The Seven Deadly Sins
by LibraSnakes13
Summary: 7 stories.  Each centered on one of the virulent Gatekeepers of Hell and their unholy sin.  The end of the world is nigh. Gluttony: Canto III is up.
1. Lust: Canto I

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo, Gamefreak or Pokemon, this story is fanfiction with no intention of profit.

Author's Note: A few months ago, I came across a series of drawings on Deviantart done by the artist darksilvania who personified (or is it pokemonified?) the Seven Deadly Sins into pokemon. His unique and wonderful drawings got me thinking. And these stories came about. I didn't use his designs though because I thought that wouldn't be right so I came up with my own interpretation. BTW: the first chapter's slow but I guarantee it will pick up later on. Enjoy.

~ 1 ~ 1 ~

**Lust**

It had been raining for the fourth day in a row.

This in itself wasn't unusual though as it _was _Olivine City. The port city was subjected to the mighty ocean that it idly sat next to. The ocean brought with it depressing clouds that dropped ice cold raindrops upon the shoreline. Every once in a while, the wind would pick up but then it would lay quiet again. For several days the clouds had battered the gloomy city with only the lighthouse serving as its beacon of light and warmth. The cloud cover meant that the lighthouse was woken up from its daily slumber earlier in the evening and put to rest later in the morning. It served as the beacon of guidance for the city and it was the only thing that kept it from falling to depression.

Such as the mood for the dour Thomas Williams, who looked out of his window of his small, but quaint, apartment that lent itself a nice view of the eastern bay area of the beach. Though nowhere near beachfront property, the apartment was well placed on the sloping terrain of the city and thus served as a nice lookout point. The building though was also gloomy like the clouds that covered the city. Its weathered concrete structure and its rusting gutters was but one of many buildings across the austere Olivine City.

Tom took a sip from his coffee, whose beans were specially imported from Hoenn, and continued to look at the beach with its foaming waves that constantly lapped across the sandy surface. The toaster oven beeped and he set his steaming mug down to take his two pieces of bread turned toast out of it. It was Tuesday, and this day was just like any other.

He quickly spread jelly over the crumbly surface and ate the toast with haste. Washing it down with the rest of his coffee, he headed to the bathroom to do his hygiene.

He looked at himself in the mirror to view the rough surface of a beard that was growing through. He had course, black hair that complimented his steel grey eyes. He had a rather full face with a pointy nose and ears that flared out from his head. Apart from that he was average. Average height, average weight and a little gut in the middle as if it reminded him that he hadn't been working out in awhile. He was pushing 30 and though he was in the prime of his life he knew that he lacked the metabolism his body had back in his college days.

He sighed. He missed his college days when he lived in the bucolic town of Mahogany. The university was great, the people were kind and amazing party goers and the nearby setting of mountains and the Lake of Rage offered a place of hideaway from the town. His life was at his peak then and after he graduated from it, it had been going steadily down since.

He shaved (dry) and adjusted his black rimmed glasses. After brushing his teeth and rinsing his mouth out, he prepared the proper attire for his work.

He walked several flights down from his apartment with his umbrella in hand. His hand glided over the steel railing as he thumped down on the carpeted and stained stairs. Opening the door, he stepped outside and opened his umbrella to shield himself from the pelting bullet-like raindrops.

Though Olivine City wasn't as crammed together like Goldenrod City, there was still much happening in the dynamic center of the City. Suburbs stretched far to the north and it was a hassle to drive in and out of the suburb to reach the inner heart. Luckily, Tom didn't live very far from his work place so he didn't need a car, only the subway.

As he walked, while avoiding the puddles of water on the worn sidewalk, a magnemite came out from the shadows of an alleyway and began to follow him. This magnemite had been following him for several weeks now, always trailing after him both to and from his work place. He was drawn to him like, Tom couldn't help but think of the analogy, a magnet to a steel bar. The magnemite's ever constant presence made him feel at ease and safe. As if it was a guardian looking after him in case something malevolent came his way.

The rain pelted the magnemite and slid down his smooth body and fell in bigger drops onto the ground. It almost made it look like he was crying from his large, single eye.

"And how are you today?"

The Magnemite twirled his eye in response and hummed like a microwave. This was different from yesterday when he spun around in midair and the day before when he shot sparks of electricity and buzzed like a fan on high speed. Tom nodded thoughtfully and said, "Well that's good, my life hasn't improved much since yesterday…I'm still waiting to see if I got accepted for Grad School at the University of Blackthorn. I sent the application several weeks ago and I still haven't heard back from them…"

The magnemite did nothing but kept up the humming at a soft tone. His single eye wavered from Tom to the sidewalk. He was listening but how much Tom couldn't tell.

"I don't know why I even bother…I sent my application in several years ago and they rejected it without a second thought."

Tom dodged an incoming pedestraian whose head was buried in his cell phone. The walker took no notice of him or of his floating companion.

"Grad school is the only shot I have though. Otherwise, I'll be stuck monitoring price regulations of goldeen in the Olivine Bay."

The magnemite did nothing except look at a passing car whose windshield wipers were going back and forth rapidly.

Tom became silent and just allowed the moment to enjoy his time with his odd companion. A block passed and the subway entrance came into view. He turned to the magnemite and said, "Well, see you later."

The magnemite looked at him and then floated off without looking back. He watched him go until he disappeared into another alley.

~ 1 ~ 1 ~

The subway was sordid as usual. Grime ruled king in his underground kingdom of darkness and filthiness. His subjects were the passengers of the subway and his slaves were the janitors who worked nonstop at his constant bidding.

Tom sat in the jostling subway car as he unconsciously counted the stops along the way. He was lucky to grab a seat as usually they are taken up. It won't be long until he has to get out.

The train stopped and the doors open up. He looked up and saw to his amazement someone he thought he knew. She was short brunette with rectangular glasses and a petite figure. His eyes widened and his mouth opened a bit.

_Jenny…?_

But one clear look at her face told him that this was not his girlfriend. His mouth closed and his eyes looked down on the floor of the car. Jenny had broken up with him several years ago but he was still not fully over her. Every time he saw someone that looked like her his heart would start pounding and he would go out of his way to see if it was her. But every one of them was not her.

He was worried about himself truth be told for many reasons. Probably the main reason was the fact that he was not over her. His obsession of her had made him obsessed at girls that look vaguely similar to her. And sometimes he found himself gazing at girls that looked like they were in high school. He shuddered to himself at the thought, he didn't want to be a pedophile and he didn't want to be a creeper.

The train pulled up to his stop to which he got up and gave one last glance at the imposter girl before stepping off.

~ 1 ~ 1 ~

It was lunch break and Tom was eager to get out of the hellhole he called his job. The nearest sandwich shop was just at the end of the block. He walked briskly to it as if he didn't want his cubicle trailing him to see where he ate. He bought a sandwich, the daily newspaper and sat at the corner of the shop and devoured the sandwich as he read the business section.

As he was wrapping up his meal, he turned to the one of the pages of the A section and saw an article that caught his eye. Wiping his mouth he read:

**Second Person Found Dead in East Side of the Bay**

By Justin Kraft

Laura Smith, 25 year old graduate of Olivine State University, was found dead yesterday afternoon at the East Side of Olivine Bay. Rob Patterson, a local fisherman, found her after his daily haul.

"I found her lying face down with some seaweed stuck to her," said Patterson, "It was when I was tying up my ship that I saw her body. I ran over to her as fast as I could and when I flipped her over I immediately knew she was dead. Her face gives me the chills…she looked like she was sleeping."

This is the second person that has been found dead in the bay area this week. The first body belonged to Joe Millsap who was also found in the area of East Side on Sunday afternoon. Police are now seeing if there is a connection between the two.

It was later diagnosed that Smith died of drowning though it was reported to be unusual that there were no signs of struggling or of fatigue. When asked about this, the mortician presumed that she might have been knocked out and fell into the ocean without anyone nearby saving her. He later added that Millsap had also exhibited the same conditions when brought in.

Zach Hendrix, Smith's boyfriend, was unable to be reached at the time. He has been living with Smith ever since the two graduated three years ago.

Our condolences to the families and friends of Laura Smith and Joe Millsap.

Tom read the article and found himself interested in the subject because he actually lived near the East Side of the Bay. His window view actually showed a portion of it as well. He considered that thought for a moment and knew it would certainly make his life less mundane if he helped out in a police investigation.

He shrugged, drank the rest of his water and threw the newspaper into the nearest bin.

Back to the hellhole.

~ 1 ~ 1 ~

It was still raining when he left his office building for home. By now, Tom was inured to constant storms and opened his much used umbrella again. A siren from a police car or an ambulance began to shrill in the distance. Tom was inured to that as well. Every 15 minutes a siren would go off somewhere and gave the already depressing looking city something to hear while it sulked.

The subway was dismal as usual and he was glad to get back out in the open air despite the rain. The magnemite wasn't there to greet him on the way back. He gave a mental shrug, sometimes he was here and sometimes he wasn't.

In a world where pokemon and humans were closely linked, Tom was one of the odd few who didn't have any strong ties to a pokemon friend. He saw no reason to as he believed he could survive in the world without one. True, when he was young he dreamed of being a great trainer and maybe even a pokemon master but like many children these dreams gradually fade away and were replaced with more down to earth goals of adulthood. As such he felt he didn't need a pokemon friend to help him. The magnemite though was slowly making him reconsider his thought as perhaps having a companion, no matter how metallic or cold it may be, would be nice to have.

He stepped up to the building and entered his key in the front door, he jiggled the knob and it swung open. Locking the door behind him, he walked upstairs to his room and unlocked that door with a different key.

He sighed in relief when he was back in the comfort of his small home. He kicked off his shoes, set his laptop down on the coffee table and opened a can of soda.

He looked out his window towards the beach. He stared at the beach intently and thought about the article he read. The bodies were found not far from him. Maybe another one had already appeared on the sandy shore this afternoon.

But nothing was there except the foamy waves.

He sighed and as he turned away from the windows something caught his eye.

He looked again.

Was there…yes…there was a person standing out there in the beach. He squinted his eyes and pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose.

It was a girl and from the looks of it she had long brown hair and a fair skinned body but that was all he could tell. He looked at her and then his heart jumped when he realized that she was looking at _him_. He thought he was mistaken but no, she was gazing at him from a distance. Did she know he was there? Or was she looking at something else?

It could be Jenny…

His hands came to rest lightly on his mouth as he thought of this possibility. He then ran to a nearby cabinet and opened the tight drawer. He rustled through the odd things and pulled out a pair of binoculars. He stride back to the window and looked out to the beach to find her.

But she was gone and all he saw were the crashing waves and a storm that showed no sign of letting up.


	2. Lust: Canto II

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo, Gamefreak or Pokemon, this story is fanfiction with no intention of profit.

Author's Note: A respected reviewer pointed out that one of the problems of the first chapter was that it was very slow. Though it was my intention to make the first chapter slow to begin with, I hope that hasn't deterred some readers to the story. This chapter fixes that and gets the plot moving. I honestly feel like this is one of the better chapters I churned out but you'll be the judge of that. Enjoy (and if you haven't, you should see Midnight in Paris as it speaks well to what it means to be a writer).

~ 1 ~ 1 ~

That night, Tom laid wide awake in his bed, staring up at the darkness that swallowed his bedroom whole. He thought about the girl that was on the beach. He couldn't explain it but he had to find her and know who she is. There was something alluring about her that was pulling him towards her. He saw her from a distance but even so, he knew that she was beautiful. Questions with no answers filled his head as her image danced in his mind.

Finally, he made a decision. He reached over from his bed and adjusted the alarm clock on his cell phone. For several weeks now he had a fairly constant routine. Now, he was about to break his mundane lifestyle.

He slept and what seemed like no time at all, his alarm clock went off at five in the morning. He reached over sluggishly and punched the keys until the damned machine finally shut up. He got up, stretched, and got ready.

He had his normal attire on except that he was wearing his regular shoes instead of the dress shoes he usually wore for work. He skipped his hygiene and went right for the door.

Instead of the subway, he headed down for the beach. He didn't know what he would find, if anything, but he had to do something because he was driven crazy about this girl.

It was still raining.

As he walked, the buildings slowly progressed from their dreary persona to a more optimistic and friendly design. Houses replaced apartments and newly bought cars took over shoddy, hand-me-downs. He was entering beach front property, where only the richest and most well off people lived. They all lived by the motto, "If you got it, flaunt it."

At the last house Tom stopped and took a deep breath of the salty wind that blew in from the ocean. The ocean's presence was more prominent at the beach front. The wind blew fiercer. The waves crashed louder.

Tom walked down a flight of stairs and stepped off of the sidewalk and onto the beach. He walked forward and was finally at the border of the beach face. He gazed at the ocean and then turned around and looked up at the morose Olivine City. The rising sun, though blocked by the rainy clouds, began to illuminate the dark city and wake it up from its restless slumber. From this morning light Tom saw his apartment building. He didn't know exactly where the girl he saw stood, but he knew it was somewhere along this region.

He opened his mouth and then closed it. Truth be told, he didn't know where to go from here. He now felt embarrassed at his plan of action. He kind of expected the girl to just pop up from nowhere. But that obviously didn't happen.

He looked down at the sand and, not for the first time in his life, wished he was a stronger man. His stomach then growled and he remembered he didn't eat any breakfast.

He placed a hand on his stomach and looked up and saw nearby a small diner that was made of nothing but concrete and wood. It sat idly next to a rotting pier with boats of all models and sizes tied up next to it. The diner looked unclean and unsafe but Tom was hungry and he damned the consequences that might happen.

As he walked to the diner, he looked towards the south and saw the famous lighthouse that Olivine was known for. It stood proudly near the edge of a tall cliff as if daring the ocean to bring it down. Its gaze swept across the ocean as it alerted nearby ships where the shoreline was. Soon, it will fall asleep for its daily slumber as its parent city wakes up to the morning sun.

Once upon a time, the lighthouse had a pokemon in it, but the pokemon repeatedly became ill, no doubt from the noxious fumes of the city, and it finally died much to the gym leader's sorrow who loved the creature. The city built a small memorial to the pokemon and decided to implement a real light bulb that wouldn't become sick like its predecessor did.

Though the lighthouse was near his apartment, Tom hadn't taken the time to go inside of it yet. It was free to the public and it was actually a haven when it came to battling pokemon. Tourists that go to Olivine City usually place it at or near the number one spot to do while in the coast side city. When he first heard this, Tom thought that was crazy. But the more he thought it, the more it made sense, what else was there to do in this melancholic city?

He shrugged and continued his walk.

He took the steps up to the diner and placed a firm grip on the railing. The wooden steps were slick from being covered in moss and soaked in water. His shoes barely gripped them in the first place. The steps creaked under his weight as he took his tentative steps up. Once he was on the deck, he looked up at the sign and read:

**The Lighthouse Diner**

With a smaller sign below it that read:

_Fresh fish and krabbies served every day._

Tom closed his umbrella and opened the door.

Immediately, he was stopped dead in his tracks by a wave of sounds and scents along with a blast of heat as well. Cacophonic sounds of talking, belching, music playing and groaning played with his ears. A mixture of dissimilar smells, ranging from putrefying to sweet filled the air. And a roaring fire from the brick fireplace gave warmth to those who shivered from the cold rain. Tom then realized that someone from the back of the shop shouted for him to close the door. Blinking twice, he walked in and slammed it behind him.

That only seemed to intensify the sounds and smells, with nowhere to go, they bounced about in the room with much celerity.

Tom finally got a good look at the patrons. They ranged from strapping young men whose beard growth seemed quite abnormal to old men with one foot already in the grave. Some of the men, in particular the older ones, had women sitting next to them either saying nothing with mouths as tight as a sailor's knot to ones that had mouths wide open and were laughing quite loudly and hysterically. If this what a Wednesday morning offered, Tom thought, then he had to think what the inn's Friday evening was like.

He looked around and decided to sit at the bar next to an old man who was by himself. His body was hunched over like some sort of gargoyle and his fingers were knobby and wrinkly like a sickened tree branch. He wore a ratty flat cap and attire that hinted on how little he shopped for clothes.

The old man only gave Tom an ephemeral glance and went right back to his drink. Tom waited until a waitress came up to him and asked him what he will have.

"Uh…do you have pancakes?"

"We ain't got pancakes," she replied, her voice laced with poison.

"Oh…uh…what do you have then?"

"We got fish, krabbies, eggs and toast."

"Oh, well…I think I'll just have two pieces of toast and two eggs sunny side up."

"You sure you don't want some boiled krabbies?"

Tom looked besides the waitress and saw someone take his krabby and flip it onto its back. Using his knife, he pried the shell apart a bit. He then took the knife out and then opened the rest of the shell with his hands. Immediately, a collection of guts and other unsavory items spilled out of the opened carcass. The man then began to pick apart the meat from the shell and ate them with much satisfaction.

Upon seeing this Tom said, "Uh…I think I'm good."

"Mendy!" shouted the old man next to Tom so suddenly that it made him jump, "Give me another round of Octillery Rum!"

"Rob, you've had enough already. If you have any more you might piss yourself and fall down drunk."

Rob waved that comment away and said, "Nah…you see…that's _exactly_…what _I_ want…it will help me…get rid of these…_damn…_nightmares…"

Mendy wasn't convinced though and she let him be. Rob called after her with an abundant amount of insults before he finally quieted down. Tom looked at the man with a peculiar look.

"You're not…are you that fisherman the newspaper interviewed about the two bodies they found?"

Rob gave a drunken look at Tom that made him wince, he mumbled to himself and said, "You a reporter?"

"No, I'm just interested in the story. Can you tell me more about it?"

"Believe me…laddie…you _don't _want to know about it. Those two bodies…they were killed…_by_ _the Siren_…"

"The Siren?"

"Aye. I didn't believe in monsters like the Siren before…always figured they were caused by pokemon or somethin'…"

"What makes you think it was a siren?"

Rob looked at his glass with an almost tearful glance. Tom handed him his glass of water that the waitress had earlier put down for him. Rob quaffed the drink down like it really was alcohol and slammed it down hard on the counter.

"She's been calling me…"

"Calling you? How so?"

"She's been singing to me. She's…_luring_ me to her with her seductive voice. I can't resist her…"

"When did this start?"

"Oh…this began after I found those _damn_ bodies…she must have allured those poor souls to her…and _drowned_ them without a second thought…"

Rob became wide eyed. His hand began to quiver.

"She's now hunting new prey….she's hunting _me…_"

He began to cry and then he cradled his head in his arms. His uncontrollable sobs left Tom in an awkward position.

"I'm going to die…die…" he blubbered on, "I'm going to die…"

Tears rolled down his cheek and by now his speech had become so slurred from drunkenness and crying that Tom wasn't able to understand him by now. He sat there and absorbed what he was just told.

"Come on…" Tom said rubbing the fisherman's back, "let's get you back to your home. Where do you live?"

At the very mention of home, Rob straightened up and almost immediately stopped crying though tears still ran down his face. He looked at Tom with a wild look in his eye and said, "I ca-ca-can't go out there…"

His eyes flickered to the entrance and back to Tom.

"Why not?"

"Be-because she'll sta-start singing to me…and once I hear her voice…I'm as good as d-dead."

Rob then gave a laugh that was full of irony and sadness.

"The melody she'll sing to me…will be my _Swan Song…_"

He gave another icy cold laugh which made Tom shiver in the warm and joyful diner.

~ 1 ~ 1 ~

Besides the trip to the shore, the rest of Tom's day went relatively normal. Talked to the stray magnemite, took the subway, worked at his office, took the subway back and talked to the magnemite again.

However, instead of staying at his apartment for the rest of the night, he decided to head back down to the beach again. He needed to see girl from yesterday but he couldn't answer why. Perhaps if he saw her, she could answer that for him.

After a quick dinner he quickly walked out of his apartment and took the same route he took this morning back down to the beach. Once he was on the beach he looked around for the strange girl but wasn't able to spot her, again.

Tom sighed. He felt exhausted at this point. Little sleep the night before and a taxing day as it was led him to feel awful. And his addiction to see who this girl was was driving him crazy. His heart had to know but the rest of him just wanted to sleep.

_Maybe I should follow up on Rob's lead and just get hammered…_

The sounds of distress splashing and cries of help snapped Tom back to the moment. He looked around and saw from a distance someone who was barely keeping afloat in the turbulent waters. He blinked and instinct kicked in.

He untied his shoes, pulled off his socks and unbuttoned his pants. He thought he could swim fine with his work shirt on so he kept it on. Right when he was about to dive in, he saw something that made him almost fall over.

It was the girl from yesterday.

She looked at him with inquisitive eyes as he stood there awkwardly in his boxers. Before he could stop himself he shouted, "What are you doing? There's someone out there that needs our help!"

She just looked at him like he was confusing artwork.

Tom shook his head and without a second glance dove into the water.

He barely had time to register her. He only saw her for a few seconds.

_Splash, splash, splash, splash._

But he knew exactly what she looked like.

_Left, right, left, right, left right._

Long and flowing, chocolate brown hair.

_Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out._

Large auburn colored eyes.

_Faster, faster, faster._

A delicately built face with a small nose but full lips.

_Go, go, go, go, go._

Smooth, vanilla-colored skin.

_Will she die?_

Small, thin, confident looking and strong.

_Almost there, almost there!_

Very nicely sized breasts.

_Wait, were her breasts that big?_

Tom grabbed the person, who he saw was a young woman, and began to drag her back to shore. His thoughts on the mysterious, beach girl were pushed aside by his thirst to live and his desire to save this girl's life. His arms, already tired from the swim out, began to ache under him. And now with one arm mainly doing the swimming, he was wearing out quicker.

But he pushed on.

_Go, go, go!_

The rain pelted him adding insult to injury but he didn't notice. His eyes were firmly fixed on the beach. They were so tight and focused that he seemed to have locked on one of the grains of sand. That grain of sand was his goal, his destination. If he reached it, then the girl's life could be saved.

He was breathing harder and the salty water was getting into his mouth. He spat it out and kept going.

_I can do this, I can do this…_

The salty water made tears form in his eyes. He tried his best to wipe them out but they still kept coming.

_Breathe, breathe, breathe!_

His whole body was screaming for him to stop and rest but he knew he can't.

_Almost there, almost there!_

He was so close….

_Little more…just a little more…_

He collapsed onto the beach and let go of the woman. He flipped over onto his back and looked up at the clouds. He was breathing so hard that his lungs ached from it. But through the dull pain, it almost felt good to him.

The girl next to him wasn't moving and when he realized this, he sat back up and flipped her over. He was taught CPR before but it had been awhile since he last done it. His quivering eyes snapped back into focus again and his shaky hands became stoic despite his rapidly beating heart. He performed the motions and the actions and he was glad that he still remembered them all.

Suddenly, the girl opened her eyes again and had a severe coughing fit. She lurched up and tried to expel all the intruding sea water. Tom instantly relaxed and collapsed again onto the beach to recover. He was relieved that she was alive and he was proud that he still remembered his valuable lifesaving skills. As her amount of coughing was slowing down, Tom said, "Hey, are you alright? Do you want me to call a hospital?"

She shook her head, "No…I think I'll be fine…"

She spat out the salty taste in her mouth and looked up at him and gave a weak smile, "Thanks for saving me…" she said meekly.

"Haha, it wasn't like I had a choice now did I? What were you doing out there anyway?"

She coughed and looked embarrassed when he asked her that. She glance up the shoreline and said, "Can I make it up to you? Let me buy you a cup of coffee, you must be cold after you jumped into the ocean to save me."

At the very mention of "cold," Tom realized that he was indeed freezing. He was shivering constantly and his teeth chattered like a constantly going typewriter. He also remembered that he didn't have any pants on.

"That would be uh…great actually…you sure don't want to have someone check you out?"

"No," she said after another round of coughing, "I think the best doctor at the moment is one who prescribes caffeine."

To fortify her statement, she slowly got up without any help from him. She gave another smile and said, "Well…uh…how about you put on your pants then and we can get ourselves nice and warm."

~ 1 ~ 1 ~

A nearby coffee shop provided Tom and his companion, whose name was Maria, the warmth they needed from the cold. Though Tom's clothes were still damp from swimming in the ocean, the heat from his caffeinated drink spread throughout his body from his stomach. It felt refreshing and relaxing. It was weird though, Tom thought, that the girl insisted on going to a coffee shop. You'd think someone who nearly experienced death would want to go home and rest but apparently she didn't seem too bothered by it.

"Thank you for buying me a cup," he said after he gave a hearty swallow to his beverage.

"Haha," laughed the girl who was nursing a Caffé latte, "I don't know why _you_ should be thanking me! I owe my life to you."

"So why _were_ you in the ocean in the first place?"

Instead of answering his question, Maria stymied it with another question.

"So, what do you do for a living, Tom?"

"Oh, well, I work at Olivine's Department of Agriculture and Food. I monitor price regulations and the amount of fish and such that is hauled in."

"That's sounds…"

"…uninteresting…"

"Not really the word I was going for but…"

"It suits it nonetheless."

"I take it that's not what you really wanted to do in life is it?"

"Not by a long shot."

"Then what _do_ you want to do?"

Tom set down his mug and smiled. He then replied, "I want to be either a linguistic expert or a translator for an international organization."

"A linguistic expert? What languages can you speak?"

"Well…I can speak some Hoennese…" he said in the respective language, "Though I'm fluent in both Sinnohan and Classical Sinnohan," he said again though this time in Sinnohan.

Maria looked confused at what he just said. He then translated for her to which she smiled and said, "That's amazing! But why did you study Classical Sinnohan as well?"

"A lot of the most famous ancient literary works were written in Classical Sinnohan. I find it befitting that the land where the world supposedly originated from is also where human culture began. These literary works offer not just what life was like back then but a window into the philosophy and knowledge of mankind."

"Classical Sinnohan…wasn't _Alexander's Inferno_ written in Classical Sinnohan?"

Tom raised his eyebrows, "Yes, it is. It's actually one of my favorite epic poems of the Middle Ages."

Tom was surprised that _Alexander's Inferno_ was one of the first things that came to Maria's mind. It's not really a subject that one talks often over a cup of coffee. It was written by the famous poet Alexander Moretti who lived in southern Sinnoh. The poem is unique in that the main character is the author himself. The poem is about Alexander's journey through the Circles of Hell in order to reach his next destination, Purgatory. It was filled with irony, tragedy and satire that was fit for the ancient Sinnohan culture.

"I remember reading that when I was in high school," said Maria, "It always left an impact on me. There's something foreboding yet enticing about that story…"

"Yes, well many historians credit the poem for establishing some of our religions of our modern world. Like the mighty creator Arceus or the rulers of time and space of Dialgia and Palkia. Some researchers even claim that Johto's and Kanto's religion of Lugia and Ho-oh were affected by this poem as well. I have my doubts about that but one can never be sure one way or another. We will never know _everything_ about the past which is why it's exciting when we discover new artifacts from it every year!"

Maria tilted her head to the side and said, "What's _your_ thought on Lugia and Ho-oh? Do you think they exist?"

"Oh yeah, no doubt about that. We have written proof about their existence for many centuries now. It would be foolish to say otherwise. Whether they're still alive now or long gone is hard to say. After the towers burned down, no one has seen them for quite awhile. However, I always like to think that the Mighty Ho-oh is still watching us and making sure us humans don't get _too_ out of hand. Haha, I don't exactly imagine him as a very…_forgiving_…legendary."

"And you don't think our Wise Lugia is any different from that? If the legends speak true about his wrath, I don't think he would show mercy on those who have sinned against Arceus…"

"And that's _exactly_ why _Alexander's Inferno_ is so enthralling! His explanation of Hell, which he has laced with both comedy and tragedy, has made poets, historians and philosophers ponder the meaning about what it means to be human and what it means to be a hedonist. Is it possible to give in and fulfill our bodily desires like sex and food while at the same time be a devout follower? You might say no but what if I were to add that the person in question helps the needy and always says his prayers to Arceus? It's these questions that we must ask ourselves what it means to be a pious follower."

"But what about the different religions in our world? The Weather Trio of Hoenn, the many different religions of Unova and Sinnoh, the crazy one involving the Golems and ours of Lugia and Ho-oh? Is there a right one? Which one guarantees that we go to heaven?"

"Don't know. Could be all of them, just one or none of them. Certainly the debate of the "correct" religion has been going on heavily for the past several centuries. Wars have been fought in order to promote or defend their religion. But times have changed and we (for the most part) have grown to accept the idea that people have different ideas or opinions and we should accept that."

"Haha, this is all a bit heavy over a cup of coffee, isn't?"

Tom laughed in response to that and replied, "Yeah…I was thinking the same thing…"

The two chatted on about the poem and other things as well, finally, Tom asked, "So, do you have a boyfriend?"

At the very mention of that, Maria looked glum and sad. She averted his eyes and said, "My boyfriend passed away a few days ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! You seem to be coping well though…"

She gave a faint smile and said, "That's because he's really not dead."

"Wait…what?"

She gave a faint shrug and said, "I know it's confusing but you have to hear this! These past few days I was a wreck, I didn't know what I would do without him…he made everything in my life enjoyable! With him gone…it was like there was an empty void in my heart."

She looked out the window of the coffee shop and watched the rain fall.

"But this afternoon, I _heard _him. He was singing to me. It was like how he would always sing to me with his beautiful baritone voice. He was singing to me that he was fine. That he didn't actually drown. He was in the ocean and he was waiting for me."

Her eyes got wide and her body shivered in anticipation, "I couldn't resist him! I knew he would never lie to me! I had to join him and feel his embrace again! I love him so much."

Tom gulped and remembered his conversation from Rob that morning.

"And so…" she continued after taking a deep breath, "I walked to the beach, threw down my umbrella, took off my raincoat and jumped into the ocean. I tried to find him but…haha, I guess I failed…"

She looked sad when she said that. Tom was meanwhile scared shitless.

"Are…are you sure that was his voice?" questioned Tom.

"Positive, no one else has such a beautiful and sexy voice as him."

"If I may ask…what was his name?"

"Joe. Joe Millsap."

The blood drained from Tom's face leaving him as pale as a ghost. After running into Rob that morning, he looked up yesterday's paper to reread the special article of the two drowned victims.

One of the victims was Joe Millsap.

~ 1 ~ 1 ~

The walk back to his apartment finally allowed Tom to catch his breath and process what had happen in the past two hours.

There was no doubt about it, there was a connection between Rob's siren and Maria's mysteriously singing, dead boyfriend. Though the sexes of the voices were different, they were linked by their power of enticing their respected victim to the sea.

Tom carefully squeezed the taser in his clammy hand. When Maria left for the bathroom, he saw in her raincoat pocket the dangerous weapon. After he heard her dead boyfriend story, he was afraid that she might do something stupid and dangerous with it so he pinched it off of her without her knowing. And when the two left the coffee shop, he called a cab and made sure that she got in it. Erring to the cautious side, he tipped the driver to make sure he saw her go into her apartment. He hoped to the bottom of his heart that the poor girl would get over her fixation of her dead boyfriend before it got the better of her.

But as his walking continued, a stronger, more prominent thought took over.

He couldn't stop thinking about the girl on the beach.

Of all the times the girl had to show up, why did she have to show up right when Maria was drowning? And why did she just looked at him when he told her to that they had to save her? It made no sense.

But the thing that really bugged Tom was what the girl looked like. She was the splitting image of his ex, Jenny.

Face, hair, eyes, body.

Except for the breasts. _This_ girl's breasts were larger than Jenny's. Not that there was anything wrong with that, Tom thought as he smirked to himself, Jenny's were on the small side to begin with. Other than that, the similarities were so similar that it was creepy.

But the mere thought of this girl made Tom's heart pound ferociously. He wanted to hold the beach girl tightly. He wanted to smell her hair. Caress her body. Kiss her passionately. And in the end, make love to her.

At first, he was satisfied with finally seeing the girl up close and personal. But now he wasn't satisfied with that. He wanted _more_. He wanted all of her and at any costs.

~ 1 ~ 1 ~

It was one in the morning and Tom still hadn't fallen asleep.

It was just like the night before where he tossed and turned in agony only this was worse. He knew he was tired, his body knew he was tired, but he couldn't fall asleep. The girl was a stronger presence than ever.

He stared at the ceiling with desperate and twitching eyes.

Why couldn't he stop thinking about this girl? There was something about her that was unlike any other girl he fantasized about. His nonpareil fixation on the girl was driving him to insanity.

He sat up, what was that sound?

He listened closely.

At first it was soft, like music dimly playing in another room. But then it grew louder. It soon became apparent that it was a woman singing. He couldn't make out any of the words at first, but then…

"_Tom…come to me…I'm waiting for you…I want to see you…please Tom…please hold me….please kiss me….I'm waiting for you…come to me…"_

Tears began to form in Tom's eyes. The voice was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard and the saddest thing as well.

But then he remembered something that Rob said to him that morning.

"_She's now hunting new prey….she's hunting me…"_

Tom gulped. He regretfully realized that _he_ was the Siren's new prey.

"Oh, Arceus," he said as he tried to block out the singing and fall asleep, "have mercy on my soul."


	3. Lust: Canto III

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo, Gamefreak or Pokemon, this story is fanfiction with no intention of profit.

Author's Note: This chapter is not as fast pace as the previous one but I promise the next one will be awesome. And to some of you readers, you probably realized that _Alexander's Inferno_ is a parody of the famous _Dante's Inferno_. Of course, seeing as this is the Pokemon World, I've taken some liberties to it. Enjoy!

~ 1 ~ 1 ~

It was 10 in the morning before Tom finally woke up. Immediately he realized that jumping in the water, though it did save a girl's life, came at the cost of a head cold that now ached his head. What's more, he cursed to himself when he realized that he over slept (he forgot to set his alarm) and was now officially late for work.

At least the Siren stopped singing.

He pulled himself out of bed and walked to the bathroom and did everything he could to make him not look like a mess. After that, he called his work place and used up one of his free passes to have the day off. With that taken care of, he got back into bed in hopes that by the end of the day, he'll have recovered enough to be back at his job.

Even though he was still tired, he couldn't get back to sleep. He stared up at the blank ceiling in agony as his clogged head cycled in and out of bad headaches. He cursed the Siren for making the girl jump into the ocean and making him have restless nights. He hated her but even so, he still wanted her.

He gave up on sleeping and sat back up. He sighed, what could he do to distract himself from his sickness and his unhealthy desire to see the girl?

After thinking about it for several minutes he got up, put on his pants and shoes and took to the streets of Olivine City.

Rain pelted Tom as he walked outside of his apartment. He knew Olivine's weather consisted of being either cloudy or rainy but even this was ridiculous. It was Thursday morning and the rain hadn't let up since Sunday.

He shook his head and walked to the nearest newspaper vendor and bought that day's paper. Folding it up under his jacket, he briskly walked back to his place before he got even more wet.

Once back at his place, he opened one of his cabinets and pulled out his prized photo album. He kept memorable photographs in there ever since he started it back in his high school days. With the newspaper and photo album now underneath the same arm, he went to his book shelf and looked for one more thing.

With his free hand, he pulled out his own copy of _Alexander's Inferno_. His conversation with Maria over the epic poem had got him thinking and he wanted to check up something to confirm his suspicions.

With a glass of orange juice on his bedside table, he relaxed and began pouring through his items.

He first focused on the newspaper and flipped through the pages rapidly trying to spot anything that was unusual or stood out. He stopped and found an article he was looking for.

**Third Mysterious Death Found in East Side of the Bay**

By Justin Kraft

Rob Patterson, a 55 year old fisherman of Eastern Olivine, was found dead yesterday afternoon. Patterson was the third death this week found on the East Side; the first two belonging to Laura Smith and Joe Millsap.

Police believe there's a crucial link between the Smith and Patterson as it was Patterson himself who discovered the body of Smith two days before his death.

Though an autopsy hasn't yet established a cause of death, Patterson's body was also found in the same condition as Smith and Millsap was. Unbroken and peaceful. Whether he died of drowning or not has yet to be determined.

Police have yet found any foul play evidence in his death.

Tom gulped, Rob's prediction of him being the next target for the Siren was correct. He must have given in to the seductive voice and died because of which. Tom gave a silent prayer to Arceus to show mercy on his soul.

After seeing nothing more of interest, Tom set the newspaper aside and turned his attention next to his photo album. He flipped through the pages and stopped when he saw a certain picture. The picture was taken during his college days and it was a younger, more strapping version of himself with Jenny smiling greatly besides him. He perused the photo carefully. The girl on the beach was so similar in appearance to Jenny that Tom shivered. The only thing that obviously differed were the breasts sizes.

Tom pondered on that notion and then flipped the pages back a bit until he stopped at another photo. This was him in his high school days when he dated his first girlfriend, Carmen. Though her face was different from the girl on the beach, they were definitely similar in breasts sizes. In fact, that was probably the _main_ reason that Tom dated Carmen in the first place. He was shallow back then and liked a girl only if she got some nice curves. He would feel bad about it nowadays if it weren't for the fact that she was doing the same thing. He was a swimmer stud back then and Carmen was just getting in on the goods.

The photo only seemed to support that notion as well. It showed a shirtless Tom with goggles on his head and a nicely toned body to boot. The frizzy, blond head standing next to him pursed out her lips and squeezed her arms together to reveal her nicely sized cleavage and delicious pair of boobs.

Tom nodded appreciatively and knew that they were the best. He had never dated a girl since who had as much tracks of land as she did.

He sat in silence for awhile before turning a few pages to look at another photograph.

This one was with him and a mildly attractive girl with very dark and wavy hair. Tom was leaning on top of a piano while giving a radiant smile. The girl was sitting on the piano bench and gave a sassy and confident grin. This was taken during his senior year of high school and the girl's name was Adrienne. Both of them were in their choir uniforms and were posing with the choir's piano. Adrienne had one of the best singing voices in the school and everyone who heard it agreed that she sounded like a professional.

Though Jenny was his favorite girlfriend, Adrienne was nonetheless a great and wonderful girlfriend. If it weren't for them going to different universities, they might have still been a couple.

Underneath the photo was a CD that he recorded of her and her best songs. He pulled out the CD, got out of bed, and popped it into his boombox.

The first song that came up was a sad song about a girl who still pined for his lover even though his death was several years ago.

"_And I'll be waiting for you._

_As my heart says it's true._

_And every day I wait by the door._

_Your absence makes me want you even more."_

Tom shuddered and quickly pushed 'stop' on the boombox. As he set back down on his bed, an ever constant thought flowed through his head.

_The Siren sounds exactly like Adrienne…_

He shuddered again and tried to block the voice from his head. If he started thinking about it he'll surely go mad.

And as he lie there, denying the voices in his head, a new thought materialized in his head.

_Dear Lugia! The Siren is a mixture of all of my girlfriends! The Siren is my ideal girlfriend!_

He got up so suddenly that he felt dizzy and wobbled a bit on the spot. Once the stars were gone, he walked to his cupboard, took out a bottle of Octillery Rum and poured himself a nice glass.

He drank the liquor straight and coughed several times after the fiery liquid went down his throat. He then set the glass down and absentmindedly stared out the window and to the beach, half expectantly seeing the beach girl staring back at him. But he saw nothing but the ocean continuously lapping across the shoreline and the never ending rain. He then took off his glasses and set his head down on his open hands.

"What the hell am I going to do?" he said to no one in particular.

His headache came back again and he instantly regretted drinking the liquor. He groaned and stumbled back to his bed and plopped back down on it. He blinked several times and saw lying next to him his copy of _Alexander's Inferno_. He sighed, flipped himself onto his back and grabbed the book.

He didn't know what he was looking for exactly, but he couldn't help but think that the epic poem might hold the answers to his questions. He opened the book and began reading.

The epic poem began with Alexander lost in the mountains of Sinnoh. As he was stumbling around, he was found by a houndoom, a gliscor and a luxray who chases after him until he loses them in a foreboding forest. On the other side of the forest he saw a tall mountain with a gigantic and horrific gate on it with the words "Abandon hope all ye who enter here" inscribed on it. Meeting him at the gate was the famous ancient poet, Salerno, who told him that he would lead Alexander through the gates of Hell in order to see his loved one, Gabriella. Salerno then took Alexander through the First Circle of Hell ("Limbo") and after a brief visit there, the duo headed to the Second Circle of Hell.

It was here that Tom adjusted himself and began to pay more attention to the text.

_I hear now the voices of agony and pain.  
>At first soft, but crescendoing as we went nearer.<br>And now I reached the awful noises' home._

_The noises come in a steady rhythm,  
>I am where all light is diminished and a<br>Melancholic ocean bellows loudly._

_It churns relentlessly as souls are  
>Tossed about like young starlys in a horrific gale.<br>The Hurricane of Hell is never ending._

_Rain splatters on the emaciated spirits  
>As the tempest twists and churns them while they are<br>Driven into insanity with faces full of tears and anguish._

"_Master," I cried, "Who are these poor souls  
>Who are subjected to this barrage of water and wind<br>And are tormented endlessly in this dreary land?"_

"_They are those who have sinned against  
>Mighty Arceus," replied my guide, Salerno, "And<br>Have committed the Deadly Sin of Lust._

_Too concerned were they of their own  
>Bodily pleasures. Their Love for Arceus was<br>Second to their excessive love of self and others."_

_I then saw a beautiful woman at the shoreline,  
>Whose face and body was almost exactly<br>Like my departed lover Gabriella._

"_Why is Gabriella here?" I cried, "Shouldn't  
>She be among the angels on the clouds above<br>And be in the almighty presence of Arceus?"_

"_What you're seeing is not Gabriella but  
>The Gatekeeper of the Deadly Sin of Lust.<br>She rules this dreary land and torments the souls herself._

_She leads astray men and women alike,  
>With her beautiful voice and what they pine for the most<br>And sends them down the path to Hell._

_Do not be fooled by her human appearance.  
>She is just like the monsters your familiar with<br>Like the ubiquitous Zubat and the penurious Drapion._

_She is an underworld Spirit that is mixed  
>With the powerful and every changing Water.<br>Her elements are what allow her to change forms easily._

_Only those who are pious to Arceus and whose  
>Hearts are pure and sound can resist her temptations<br>And not be sent to the Second Circle of Hell."_

Tom reread the passage several times and took it all in. He then flipped to the back of the book where the translator provided very nice annotations to help guide the reader along when reading the epic poem. Tom read the section dealing with the Second Circle of Hell:

"_It churns relentlessly as souls are Tossed about like young starlys in a horrific gale: _Alexander was known for incorporating irony and symbolism in his works. This passage is an excellent example of that. The punishment for a soul that committed the sin of Lust is being thrown about in a never ending storm. Like a small bird, in this case a starly, that has no control in their direction of flight in a hurricane, the souls have no self-control whatsoever in their bodily desires. Thus, they are tossed about like allegorical ragdolls.

_The Gatekeeper of the Deadly Sin of Lust: _There's some debate among historians and interpreters on the inspiration of the Gatekeeper of Lust. One of the most prominent claims comes from the mythological story of the Siren, the monster who lead famous sailors of ancient times to death with her powerful and alluring voice. Though the Siren is nowadays believed to have originated from the Milotic, many people of the Middle Ages, including Alexander, believed that it was a real monster.

However, another popular theory is that the Gatekeeper of Lust was inspired by the pokemon Ditto. Breeding farms had been going on for at least 2,000 years and it was well known at that time to use Ditto when breeding certain rare pokemon. Alexander's father was actually a breeder and so he was well exposed to the shape shifting powers of Ditto and how it could change into any form the pokemon in question would see desirable. The Gatekeeper of Lust uses that same power of transformation and takes on the form that her/his victim desires the most. She then entices them to certain doom and damnation.

_She is just like the monsters your familiar with… She is an underworld Spirit that is mixed With the powerful and every changing Water_: Unlike some believers of the time, Alexander thought that the Gatekeepers of Hell and other demons were pokemon just like the noble Legendaries are as well. As such, he gave befitting types to the Gatekeepers.

The Gatekeeper of Lust's type is both Ghost, "Spirit" in this case, and Water. The Ghost type aspect allows her to easily read the desires and fears of her victim and change her appearance to match them. The Water type is malleable allowing her to change form easily. Her Water type means she's also at home in the dreary, beach-like world of the Second Circle of Hell."

Tom closed the book and looked at the wall in contemplative silence. If what he was thinking about was true, then _Alexander's Inferno_ was more realistic than anyone had ever imagined before. The Gatekeepers of Hell weren't just symbols of the Cardinal Sins of Man, they were real monsters that preyed upon the souls of the weak and the helpless.

And one of them had escaped from Hell.

His headache subsided a bit so he got up, walked to his medicine cabinet and downed two aspirin dry. He then walked to his small living room and looked out of his window towards the beach.

Slowly the pieces were falling to place.

The never ending rain.

The Siren.

The deaths.

The victims' lust.

And the girl on the beach who was his idealized girlfriend.

All caused by an unholy and lecherous pokemon.

He felt like taking another drink but he resisted the temptation. An idea flickered on in his head and soon burgeoned into a passionate and righteous fire. Whether it was caused by the alcohol making him unreasonable or not he didn't know. But something inside of him told him it was the right thing to do.

He looked at his raincoat and pulled out Maria's taser. Deep down, Tom knew that she was most likely dead. No doubt from the Siren who finally lured her back to the ocean to drown herself in.

His guidebook towards _Alexander's Inferno_ hypothesized that the Gatekeeper of Lust was part Water type. He looked at the taser in grim silence before he smiled slowly.

Tonight he was going to answer the Siren's wishes and meet her face to face. And when he did confront her, he'll be ready.


	4. Lust: Canto IV

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo, Gamefreak or Pokemon, this story is fanfiction with no intention of profit.

Author's Note: Whereas the first chapter of Lust was slow paced, the opposite can be said for the final chapter. Listening to the soundtrack of Black Swan certainly helped me get in the mood for it…so I present to you the final chapter of Lust, enjoy.

~ 1 ~ 1 ~

_What the hell am I doing? Am I really going to take on a demon with just a taser?_

The farther he walked from his apartment the stronger his doubt of survival was. The dire situation was enerving his courage and sucking his vitality dry. His heart thumped loudly and his palms were sweaty from fear.

And the rain was hitting him relentlessly.

He waited until the end of the day to face the Siren. In the meantime, he got ready by resting, drinking many fluids and downing lots of medicine. His headache was gone and his cold subsided for the most part. He was still tired but his wits and senses were still sharp.

He turned right at a block and got a clear view of the beach. A shroud of fear blanketed him as he saw the ocean. He couldn't move no matter what.

_Dead man walking…_

Tom was torn between going towards the beach and giving up and heading back. Caught between his ambivalent feelings, he sat down at a bus stop bench.

He tried to calm his heart down by breathing deeply but that didn't happen. It kept going on at an alarming pace.

He felt like crying. Crying because he wasn't a strong man like he once was. Crying because he might die.

And when he was on the verge of giving up; a memory from long ago came to him.

~ 1 ~ 1 ~

_Ten years ago…_

"Nationals…" Tom said more to himself then to anyone in particular.

"What was that, Tom?" inquired Adrienne who sat next to him on the long and narrow wooden bench.

"I just…I just can't believe I'm competing for the Nationals. Me! Of all people! How'd did this happen?"

Tom and Adrienne were in Mahogany High School's large Aquatic Center. Top high schools from around the area had come to compete for a chance to swim in nationals. The air was rich with the sound of people talking and water splashing. Water vapors were thick in the air and made the large room as humid as a typical, Hoenn summer day.

"I'll tell you how it happened," said Adrienne, who's promiscuous and soothing voice was filled with confidence and pride, "My boyfriend won himself a couple of gold medals. And someone smart decided that he should compete for nationals. And rightly so! Wouldn't have it any other way."

Tom laughed and said, "but I'm so nervous! Look at some of these players! There's John Russell from Lake of Rage High School, rumors have it that he swims with the Gyarados. And there's Darren Dumond whose personal trainer is a poliwrath! These guys are unbelievably good."

Adrienne rolled her eyes and said, "Bullshit, I don't believe those at all. You're just as good as them if not better! It's good to not be egotistical but it's another thing if you have no self-confidence at all. You've been training for several years for this moment and now you're about to shatter it with your low self-esteem. Get passionate, get motivated!"

Only Adrienne could make such a dirty word as "bullshit" sound appealing with her sexy voice.

"Yeah," countered Tom meekly, "but, I just don't know…I should have practiced the breast stroke better and my back stroke is still a bit off and…"

Adrienne pulled Tom in and kissed him passionately. Tom was taken aback by this but decided not to question it and gave in to her kiss. His heart was beating hard for a different reason now.

"Listen to me," she said softly when she broke the kiss and looked him straight in the eye with her sapphire colored eyes, "this is the moment you've been working for in all your high school years. You've wanted this ever since you started swimming on the team. And you're going to _rock_. If you fall, you will go down swinging. If you lose, you're opponents will be in awe of your determination. They'll realize that even though they won, they've come pretty _damn close_ to losing. And they'll never underestimate you again."

She smiled, "But that won't happen. You're going to win and you're going to beat the swim trunks off of them. Wipe the floor with these buckos and show them whose boss. Win or lose, I'll still love you."

Tom smiled, he took a deep breath and his heart slowly returned to its normal pace. He then gave her a big hug and said, "Oh Adrienne, what am I going to do without you?"

"Probably do something stupid, I suppose."

Tom laughed, gave a beaming smile and nodded in agreement.

~ 1 ~ 1 ~

Tom looked up and his eyes sharpened. He gazed off into space and processed what Adrienne had said to him. It was so long ago and the conditions were different but it was the same procedure nonetheless. If he gave up now, he would lose, no other outcome was possible. But if he fought, even if his probability of succeeding were slim, he would at least have some chance of winning.

His heart slowed down until it was its normal beat. His hands felt less sweaty and his breathing was rhythmic again. He got up and without looking back, headed to the beach.

The sun was near the horizon and with the constant cloud cover; this meant that light was already fading faster than usual. It was probably for the best, thought Tom, he didn't want to attract attention.

He arrived onto the beach and saw nobody there. He kind of expected this so he walked over to a nearby bench and waited.

He waited for a long time. How much time had passed he could not say.

And then, he saw her.

She was slowly appearing from the ocean itself. First her head emerged, then her shoulders, chest, waist, hips, all the rest of her body slowly showed itself as she walked towards him from the sea.

He gulped and stood up.

"_Come to me Tom…"_ she sang, _"Come and kiss me…I miss you deeply…please hold me Tom….please make love to me…"_

Taking a deep breath in and mustering up his courage, he said in Classical Sinnohan, "You're the Gatekeeper of Lust, aren't you?"

She stopped, bewildered by what he said and how he said it, she then replied back in the same language, "You know my original language? That's a rare thing to find nowadays."

"But you're not denying what I just said?"

She smiled and continued to take her steps towards Tom. Tom had to do all he could to not think about how much she looked like Jenny, or how beautiful her breasts were like Carmen or how similar her voice was to Adrienne. He forced his heart to stay calm and stoic. He looked at her straight in the eye and kept an imperturbable expression.

"But why would you aver such a statement?" she said with a pouty expression, "I'm Jenny."

"No…" he took a deep breath in, "No, you are not, you're the Gatekeeper of Lust. You lure men and women to their death by what they are attracted to the most."

Tom was having some difficulty speaking in Classical Sinnohan. Though he was fluent in reading it, speaking it was another thing entirely. The language had been dead for many centuries now.

"But, Toooom," she said cooingly, "I'm not a monster. I _love _you. Could a monster love somebody as much as _I _do?"

It was becoming quite difficult in resisting the urge to gaze at her. She was wearing scantily clad clothes that showed enough skin to be turned on by but just enough to make the looker want more. And her cleavage was rich and deep and amplified her paired, prized possessions.

He closed his eyes and said, "Why'd you kill Laura Smith, Joe Millsap and Rob Patterson? I assume you also killed Maria as well."

"Oooohhh, you're going to be a _difficult_ one, aren't you?" she said with a hint of excitement in her voice. Every syllable she spoke made Tom want to pull his hair in agony. "Haha, do you _really_ want to know why I killed them? I'll tell you."

He heard her voice grew louder and, with eyes still closed, took tentative steps back from her.

"You mortals seem to think that with every passing generation you become less "savage" and more refined. Nothing could be farther from the truth. You're still as lecherous as your ancestors were centuries ago."

She stopped and was now five feet in front of him. She leaned on one of her well defined and smooth legs and placed her dainty arms on her wide hips.

"Take for instance the people whom you call Laura Smith and Joe Millsap. I've been watching them and their respected lovers for some time now. Joe would bring Maria down to the beach and the two would laugh, talk and swim and were obviously _enamored _with each other. As for Laura and…what's his name…Zach…that's it…they would do that and _more_ on my sandy shore. They did quite a number of things that would make you blush, haha!"

She gave a bigger smile and leaned on her other leg.

"Then one day, Joe and Laura randomly met each other on the beach. The two talked to each other of many things and soon _they _fell in love with each other! And then the two were going at it like there was no tomorrow!"

She placed a finger on her lips and glanced up in the sky as if she was thinking.

"I believe this is what you call "an affair."

Tom opened his eyes now in shock and gave a doubting look to her.

"No…that can't be right…"

She then laughed at his face and said, "Are you really _that_ naïve? Do you really think that all you fellow mortals are upright and moral? Not a chance! Do you know how many souls I rule over in the Second Circle? It's almost embarrassing!"

She looked around the scenery and continued on with her rosy smile that was laced with poison.

"In fact, I've always liked this area. It reminds me of so much of home, except for all the screaming souls of course. I certainly don't miss _that_."

Tom took a deep breath in again and gripped the taser firmly in his pocket, it gave him the confidence to continue on.

"So Laura and Joe had an affair, that still does not give you the right to kill them."

"On the contrary, it gives me every right to have them. If they're not serious with their original lovers why should they be serious with each other? So, I first easily seduced Laura by impersonating Joe. One day she was walking by herself on the beach, no doubt waiting for Joe, so I magically appeared and took her to the sea with me. However, it was a bit more difficult to seduce Joe after he saw Laura's dead body but I took care of him as well. They got what's coming to them. Arceus would not have shown mercy on their souls even if I were to spare them."

Tom took a defiant step towards her and said, "But why did you kill Maria as well? She did nothing wrong!"

She raised an eyebrow at his audacious attitude and her smile faltered. She replied, "You're right, she did nothing wrong but she was obsessed with her now very dead boyfriend. After his death she would spend most of the day at the beach and look out to the ocean in hopes that all of it was a mistake."

She gave a faint shrug and a light roll of her eyes, "I felt sorry for her so I put her out of her misery. The last thing she saw was me as Joe so she died happily. Don't worry, Areceus will be forgiving for her."

Her confident smile came back again and she said, "You're quite a man, aren't you Thomas? Yesterday, when we saw each other on the beach, I thought you would be taken by my sudden appearance. Instead, you gave one look at me and jumped right in to save the girl. It's not _every _day that I get rejected for another girl."

"You bitch," he said with anger, "She was drowning. I _had_ to save her."

She opened her mouth in shock and placed her petite hand on her large breasts. She then said in a mocking tone, "I'm a _bitch_? You're quite the hypocrite, Tommy Boy."

"How does me calling you a "bitch" make me a hypocrite?"

"Tommy, Tommy, Tommy. I'm more perfect then you think. I don't just take on the appearance of what you desire the most or sing what is most pleasing to you. No, I have more than that, I take on the personality and intelligence you're most attracted to as well."

She stood tall and proud at this moment and said in voice rich with confidence, "And you like girls who are head strong and teeming with self-confidence! Girls who don't take the shit that life has given them! I like that!"

Tom bit his lip and lost his nerve again. He couldn't help but feel turned on by her. Everything about her was so attractive that he felt himself falling for her.

She blinked her eyes slowly and smiled sweetly instead of poisonously. She held out her hands and said, "If you're not convinced by my confidence and strength, I'll just prove it to you."

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Suddenly the rain increased and became a torrent. The raindrops were huge and were coming down at an alarming pace. But she wasn't done yet.

The ocean's waves began to churn and mix and soon crept forward at an alarming pace. It was sloshing violently as the Gatekeeper was pulling them forward. With a simple twist of her hands a stream of water emerge upwards into the sky and curved around sinuously. Like a giant snake, it twisted and curved this way and that. The winding stream of water was then hovering above the two like the aforementioned snake ready to strike.

She snapped her finger.

CRACK!

A lightning strike not too far away came hurtling down from the clouds and struck the now turbulent ocean.

She snapped them again.

CRACK!

Another lightning strike crashed down again though a little bit closer this time. Tom's ears were hurting from the proximity of the strike.

She then waved her left hand like a conductor would for his orchestra. Immediately, a gust of wind came by that almost blew Tom off his feet. The wind howled menacingly and never ended.

It was just as _Alexander's Inferno_ had described it: _a __Melancholic ocean bellows loudly…The Hurricane of Hell is never ending._

Tom fell to his knees in awe. The Gatekeeper smiled when she was done and said speciously, "Are you convinced of my power? I'm only showing this to you because _I love you_, Tom. I want to show you that I'm the strongest and most powerful girl you'll ever love."

"Yes…" said Tom who was so taken by her beauty, her confidence, her voice and her power, "I am…I can't stand it anymore…"

He got up slowly.

And on cue, the two walked towards each other and were imperturbable towards the howling wind, the ongoing rain and the cracks of lightning.

Face to face, he raised his arms slowly and felt her toned and sleek body along the way. Every inch, crevice and indention felt real to him. His arms slowly locked around her back.

She wrapped her arms around him and she felt the softness of her hands on his back.

He felt her breasts along his chest as he pulled her in.

She smelled like flowers and pine trees.

Their lips touched.

However longed they kiss it wasn't enough. She was the first to pull away. She stepped back, held out her hand and said, "Now come, come with me. Come with me. Come with me, Tom."

Tom's heart was beating hard again, just that brief moment with her made him want her even more. Slowly, he nodded.

And just as he was about to take a step forward something flew through the air. Before he had a chance to comprehend what he saw, a bright spark of electricity accompanied by crackling sounds filled the air. Just after the spark came a piercing scream that made his knees wobble.

He blinked several times and saw the magnemite that he always talked to in the city.

"Magnemite!" he cried, now feeling a great sense of gratification towards the steel pokemon.

Magnemite was hovering above the now fallen Gatekeeper of Lust. Upon hearing his name, he turned around and saw Tom and his relieved expression. Magnemite flew through the air and landed in his arms. He felt warm to the touch and he hummed constantly.

"Where the _hell_ did that damn magnemite come from?" shouted the Gatekeeper whose voice was no longer sweet and sexy but ear-splitting and scratchy.

She got up slowly and allowing Tom to see her once calm face that was transformed with rage. Sparks of electricity occasionally shot out of her as she gripped her hands tightly.

Tom's eyes widened as he looked at her with both horror and awe. Her beautiful features seemed to have intensified greatly. Her eyes were bigger, her lips more full, her skin more fair and her breasts seemed even bigger if that was possible.

But even through her exaggerated features and her face of rage, Tom felt his confidence coming back. He adjusted his stance and said, "He's my guardian. He watches over me and protects me from myself. He's my shepherd who sets me on the right path towards Arceus."

"Your guardian?" she screamed more from confusion then from rage, "Since when did _you_ have a guardian? He's nothing more than a useless and abandoned creature!"

At this moment, Magnemite began to push him away from her. Even though he was a "shepherd," he was still just a magnemite going up against mighty demon from Hell.

He was about to agree on his suggestion to take off when he saw something interesting. Through the dimming light he saw on the highly polished surface of his guardian the reflection of the Gatekeeper. Her image was distorted from the concave mirror but it was clear nonetheless. He held Magnemite up and saw her.

What he saw surprised him. Instead of the illustrious beauty standing before him he saw an androgynous being made entirely of water and surrounded by mist. The being had large eyes, a small and simple mouth and a thin but dexterous body. It was nothing like the beauty that was every bit his idealized girlfriend. On the contrary, this being looked…plain.

Tom's eyes widened when he saw the reflection. He looked up at the Gatekeeper and said, "I know what you look like…you're nothing more than a…thing…made of water…"

At this point, the Gatekeeper of Lust's rage began to lighten and her features slowly became less extravagant. However, her eyes widened in response to this comment and said, "You've seen…my true form?"

Her eyes flickered to Magnemite who was still in his hands, she immediately made the connection.

Without hesitating she pulled back her right arm and transformed it entirely to water. She then whipped it right at Tom's side. The attack caught him by surprise as it slammed into him hard. He made a groan in pain and fell to the ground in agony. The magnemite flew from his arms and hovered above his fallen and now moaning comrade. The magnemite was worried and its single eye was rapidly flickering from Tom to the Gatekeeper and back.

The Gatekeeper held up her hands and gave a hard flick with them. The sinuous and watery snake that was still above them came down with horrendous speed and caught the magnemite head on. It carried the magnet pokemon along and slammed it down to the ground. The water dispersed on impact but not before dealing a great deal of damage to the helpless pokemon.

She turned her attention back to Tom who barely sat himself up again. He was hunched over though and gripped the side tightly. She gave a big sigh and lurched her watery right arm forward. The water curled around his neck and slowly lifted him off the ground.

Tom gasped and gripped the liquid rope as best as he could. He tried uselessly to pull it off of him. She watched him struggle with an expression that was not of amusement but that of sadness.

"You have given me more trouble than your worth, mortal," she said slowly, her voice no longer filled with beauty and seductiveness but with sorrow and annoyance, "I have tried my best to seduce you but I have failed. Perhaps it was your fear of death which conquered your love for me."

Tom eventually stopped struggling and looked at her with eyes filled with wonder, hatred and awe. He could barely breathe but he had to ask her anyway.

"If you're about to kill me" he said through his wheezing breaths, "tell me…why did you kill Rob Patterson…?"

She rolled her eyes and said, "Again with the questions! Fine, I'll tell you, I don't see what good it will do you though once you're sent to Hell."

Tom had to strain to hear her speak, the rain was relentlessly loud.

"I'll let you in on a little secret," she said, "You think I _chose_ to have a life like this? I was born this way. I have an ever constant desire for sex and I can never satisfy it. I try my best to ignore the desire but I fail. That's why I seduce as many men and women as I can. To try to satiate my desire. I never do though. Rob was just one of many victims and there will be even more to come."

She smiled and loosened her grip on his neck.

"Instead of drowning you, how does the notion of dying happily sound? And come on…"

Her features sharpened and she looked just like Jenny again. She continued:

"Don't you want to make love to me, Tommy? Your best girlfriend ever? The one you loved the most?"

It was torturous to Tom to hear the imposter Jenny say these words. His feelings of anguish were coming back to him.

But then he remembered the image he saw of the watery being on the reflective surface of Magnemite.

He gave a coughing laugh.

"What's so funny…" she said, her face contorting itself into a grimace.

"You're…you're just a _monster_. I've seen your true face…and you're _not_ Jenny."

He reached into his pocket slowly and pulled out the taser.

"You're just…a lecherous demon…a perverted pokemon…and I don't love you…"

He aimed the taser and fired.

The probes shot out of the taser and crackled in the air. The probes landed squarely on the imposter Jenny's forehead and delivered a powerful jolt to her.

Immediately, Tom regretted doing that as the electricity flowed through her arm and right back to him. Though the power was diminished, his muscles were spazing out.

But that was nothing compared to the Gatekeeper who screamed with pain again. She dropped him to the ground as the electricity pulsed through every inch of her body.

Her scream was unholy and not of this world.

Her entire complexion began to distort and change. She looked monstrous as a variety of features flashed throughout her body. Her whole body quivered in agony and pain.

Tom averted his eyes from her and wished that she would die from that. The rain came down his face relentlessly.

And then, the screaming stopped.

He slowly pulled his body up to a wavering sitting position and saw standing before him the monster from the reflection. All water and no heart.

The monster seemed to have realized this and looked down at its arms and body. The monster's eyes flashed towards Tom and said in a voice that was neither male nor female, "I swear, I'm going to take your soul and torture it to insanity once we're in Hell."

The monster's simple features were filled with rage and hate. It stumbled up to Tom and raised its watery arms.

Tom rolled out of the way as the arms came crashing down. His whole body, sore from all the pain he had to endure, was yelling for him to rest. But he ignored all of that and forced himself to get up.

A spark of electricity filled the air and the magnemite came zooming back in. The electricity hit the monster square in the back. It yelled in pain again and tried to swat the small pokemon out of the air.

Tom admired Magnemite's tenacity. He blinked several times as he slowly watched the two pokemon battle each other. His feet barely kept his aching and staggering body up.

And through all of this, the rain kept coming on.

Tom blinked.

_Rain…_

He looked up.

_Clouds…_

He looked at Magnemite.

_Electricity…_

He closed his eyes hard as he was thinking deeply about something a trainer had once told him about battling tactics in rainstorms.

_The Gatekeeper's a Water type…_

_Electricity…_

_Clouds…_

_Rain…_

He opened his eyes again and shouted, "Magnemite! Use Thunder attack!"

Magnemite stopped his dodging and looked at Tom like he was a new person. He hummed in response and he flew upwards, high, high into the air.

"NO!" shouted the Gatekeeper of Lust. The monster stretched out its arms and tried to reach Magnemite but it was too late. The magnemite began to glow like a light bulb and soon was as bright as the lighthouse's beacon. Sparks of electricity sporadically shot out of him as he drew power.

"Arceus…" said Tom to himself as he looked up to his guardian, "Give him the strength needed to vanquish his foe. Give him the power to send the demon back to Hell!"

The monster then looked at Tom, "NO!" it shouted again, "I won't be taken down so easily!"

The monster ran towards him with great speed, Tom took a step back but slipped on the water soaked surface. He landed hard as the monster was only 12 feet away.

He didn't avert his eyes from the rampaging monster. If he was going to die, he would look at death square in the eyes.

But then,

A horrific thunderbolt came crashing down from the heavens. It was so bright that Tom tightly shut his eyes and it was so loud that he covered his ears in agony. He felt the hair on his body raise from all the electricity in the air and he was so close to the impact that he even felt the sound wave pass through him violently.

When the chaos ended, he heard nothing.

He opened his eyes and saw no trace of the monster.

He relaxed and gave a sigh of relief. Finally, it was over.

Magnemite hovered down and landed clumsily by his side, he too was beat up from their mighty battle. The pokemon warily looked at Tom and gave a scratchy hum. Tom placed a reassuring hand on him.

"Come on…let's get ourselves fixed up…"

And then he realized something. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it but he had to find out.

He held up his hand and felt nothing.

He smiled.

The rain had finally stopped.

**End of Lust**


	5. Gluttony: Canto I

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo, Gamefreak or Pokemon, this story is fanfiction with no intention of profit.

~ 2 ~ 2 ~

**Gluttony**

"You look so beautiful right now."

Aubrey Vanilla smiled and adjusted her sunglasses. She looked up at her boyfriend, Mike Guinness, and replied, "The sun must be giving you heat stroke cause I think you're crazy."

"No, it's true! Sometimes, I just look at you and become amazed with the fact that I caught somebody like you!"

He crouched down and continued, "And you're even more beautiful while you work. You're just so…_sexy_."

She rolled her eyes and avoided eye contact. With a hint of annoyance in her voice she said, "Shouldn't you be helping Professor Curry out? I'm sure he has _something _for you to do."

He batted at the notion like it was a fly in the air, gave a dramatic shrug and said jokingly, "But he's nowhere as _near_ attractive as you."

"Yes, but he has a lot of money and…" she finally looked at him and gave a sharp poke to his chest, "the more attentive you are to him the more likely you'll get that grant! We want to look good in the Professor's eye, can't be a bunch of slackers."

Aubrey and Mike were part of an archeology expedition for the University of Violet City (UVC). They were in the proverbial haven of archeological sites, Ruins of Alph. Nowhere else in Johto was there such an area rich in artifacts and ancient landmarks. So important was it to ancient history that Johto even designated it a National Park.

As such, only a select few were allowed to traverse through the ruins. Aubrey and Mike were one of those select few.

Upon mentioning the grant, Mike's expressions became serious again and said, "You don't need to remind me, I know about that."

A playful bark came behind him and Mike looked to his side and saw Cerberus his houndour. He barked again and wagged his stubby and black-as-night tail. Mike smiled and petted his noble and loyal companion.

Turning back to Aubrey, he said, "Do you _really_ think I would forget such a thing? This is me we're talking about!"

He took off his wide brimmed hat, which he called his Adventure Hat (yes, _with _the capitals), and gave a dramatic bow. Cerebus, who always did as his owner did, bowed too. Mike then said, "I shall depart then, sweet maiden and find the dear Professor!"

"Yes, yes, go!" she said insistently, he was a pill and he knew it. He did his best to tease her but she didn't have time for his shenanigans.

Once he and his pokemon left, she sighed and focused her attention back to her work.

She was on the side of a small and gently sloping hill. Not a shred of grass was upon the shale and sandstone covered terrain. To the casual eye it was uninteresting and austere.

But to Aubrey she saw something else, the possibility of discovery, knowledge and insight.

She carefully brush away the dirt and dust that coated the artifact that she found. She wasn't sure what it was but judging from the overall design and material she was inclined to say it was from an ancient tablet.

Sweat glistened her forehead.

When she told people she was an archeologist she would always get the collection of inquiries asking if she went treasure hunting in booby trapped caves or stumble upon ancient and undiscovered tribes. Movies glorified the life of an archeologist when in reality it was a lot safer, and duller, than people expected.

Sherry, her sandshrew, rolled up beside her and uncurled herself. She looked up at her friend with large and inquisitive black eyes.

Aubrey pointed to the pile of dirt that with her soiled brush and said, "Right there, you know the drill."

Sherry nodded and hobbled up to the pile of dirt and transported it bit by bit away from her excavation site. If there was anything more of value from this excavation site, Aubrey wanted to get to it without the hassle of the dirt blocking her.

She whistled in excitement as the figures became clear on the artifact.

_It's written in Unown…_

Aubrey was ecstatic; she did her dissertation on the language of the Unown. She was proud of her skill and knowledge of the enigmatic Unown. Few people can boast that they know how to translate the ancient writing.

She wiped the sweat off her face and held the piece up.

Aubrey bit her lip. Since it was such a small piece, it was hard to determine what it said exactly. She needed more of the puzzle pieces.

Setting the prized artifact down carefully, she slowly and meticulously scraped dirt up to find the missing pieces, if there were any.

The day wore on and little by little, she found more of the artifact shards. As her shadow lengthened substantially in accordance to the falling sun, she set out the pieces and tried to connect them together.

She frowned, it wasn't yet complete. Whether the rest of the tablet was eroded away or still buried under the dirt was hard to say.

Aubrey sighed and pulled out a small, red flag and stuck it in her site. She wanted to find this site again when she came back tomorrow. In the meantime she'll wrap up the remaining pieces in aluminum foil.

Sherry scratched herself as Aubrey took a swig from her water canteen. She looked down at her pokemon and said, "Come on. Let's find the others."

Sherry nodded and scampered along Aubrey, nimbly avoiding her feet as they pressed upon the dusty ground.

20 minutes later, Aubrey arrived at the vehicles. To her surprise, she was the last one to arrive.

"Hey, Aubrey!" cried Jessica Peppers, "We've been waiting for you! We thought you got lost or something."

Aubrey smiled and said, "Nope, of course not. I just lost track of time that's all."

The expedition consisted of six students and Professor Curry. There was Jessica Peppers who was in her second year of grad school and was considered the "hippie" of the bunch. She had cornrowed hair that went down past her shoulders and she seemed to always wear a long and flowing skirt whenever possible. Then there was Danny Rice whose tough demeanor complimented his sharp tongue. He was smart, boisterous and was annoying at times.

"Good!" said the cheerful Luiz Azúcar, whose accent was flavored with indigenous language of Hoenn, "We can finally return to our campsite and get cleaned up!"

"Thank Ho-oh!" cried Steven Berry, the youngest and the only undergraduate student of the bunch, "Now, I can finally shower!"

"Boy," said Danny gruffly through his lit pipe, "If you can't survive _one day_ without a shower then you're not cut out to be an archeologist."

"Leave him be, Danny," said Mike, "I was once in his shoes before and now I can go at _least_ a week before showering!"

"Ah!" cried Aubrey, "I am _not_ sleeping with _you_ tonight!"

Professor Curry laughed at her statement. He was every bit the stereotypical, old archeologist. He looked like kind grandfather with a full white beard and a rotund belly that was as round as a beach ball. His large and thick glasses contrasted against his small and beady eyes. He stood proudly amongst his six students and said, "Well, now that we're all here, let's get a move on!"

Aubrey nodded and followed Mike to his car. The university, though proud of its archeological department, was stingy in giving funds for expedition and that included renting vehicles too. Aubrey didn't mind that much as she was given some time to Mike.

She opened the back door for Cerberus jumped in and Aubrey picked up Sherry and set her gently on the seat. She gave a squeal of approval and thanks.

Once the expedition group was back at the campsite, Aubrey turned to Mike and said, "I'm going to see if I can translate my incomplete artifact."

"You sure? We're going to leave for dinner in like 40 minutes."

"Yeah, I'm sure. I just want to see if the artifact was of anything interesting."

He shrugged, "Suit yourself."

She took her prized discovery and lay the pieces down on a nearby picnic bench. She carefully unwrapped the foil and pieced together the artifacts until they made a coherent structure. Taking out her personal translation guide for the Unown language, she began to decipher the mysterious tablet.

To her disappointment, there really wasn't much to translate. She saw a few words here and there like "pious," and "virtue." She even saw the ancient word for Arceus, "Arch Theus." However, the lack of special pieces meant that it was hard to tell what the tablet was about.

The sound of her name being called pulled her away from her work. She looked up and saw Mike waving at her and shouting to get ready for dinner. She did a quick glance at her watch and was surprised to see how much time had already gone by. Snapping her notebook shut, she wrapped up the artifacts and headed to the vehicles.

As she strode up to Mike's car, she couldn't help but feel apprehension on what she had translated. Though most of the language was written in the same size, there was one Unown word that was quite a bit larger than the rest. Her inquisitiveness on the word was replaced with fear and nervousness when she deciphered the word. In big, daunting letters she wrote in her notebook:

_Gluttony_

~ 2 ~ 2 ~

One by one the vehicles rolled into the small village of Johnston. Aubrey smirked, the village was just a small blip on the massive Johto nation. You would be hard to find it on normal maps to begin with. The only reason why this village hadn't faded away like a ghost town was the conveniently located pokemon center and the close proximity of the Ruins of Alph. Trainers and tourists frequently stopped by the small "town" and kept it alive and well for many decades now. It was charming, it was quaint…

"…and it's expensive," she said, finishing her thought out loud.

"What was that, Aubrey?" questioned Mike who had neatly parked the car and unbuckled his seatbelt.

"These small, mountain towns are nice and all but they're so _damn_ expensive. Everything out here is sold at outrageous prices when you can get them for _nearly_ half the cost on the internet!"

He shrugged and got out of the car. Slamming the door shut he said, "Eh, what can you expect from a town like this? Its got to survive somehow so they notch up the prices by a lot. It's being economically smart, that's what it is. Violet City is too far away and Azalea Town is a nightmare to get to thanks to Union Cave."

He wrapped his hand around her and took a deep breath in. With a goofy smile, he said, "But smell that beautiful pine tree scent! I tell you, if I had the money, I'd probably spend the rest of my life here!"

"What about me! Don't I belong somewhere in that dream too?"

Mike smiled and gave her a quick kiss. He then said, "Baby, you're _always_ in my dreams!"

Aubrey rolled her eyes and walked towards the rest of the group; Mike laughed and followed suit.

"Where should we eat this time?" she asked once the group was together.

"It's not like we have a choice, is there?" replied Danny who scratched his several days of facial growth, "There are only three restaurants and they all suck balls."

"Not necessarily," contradicted Steven who raised a finger that was rough from working with tools all day long, "the pizza place was quite delicious. Who knew that fried ekans and sun-dried tomatoes would make great toppings?"

Aubrey wanted to gag.

"Well," said Professor Curry who placed a hand over his large belly, "I think I'm in the mood for some hamburgers. The last time we were at _The Ruins of Alph Bar and Grill_ I had a perfectly grilled Tauros meat, seasoned with the right amount of garlic and mayonnaise. I think it's one of the greatest inventions since slice bread! And I think I'll treat myself to another round of it tonight. How does that sound to everybody?"

The students mumbled to themselves and agreed that the bar and grill sounded fine to them.

As they walked to the restaurant, a voice near the pokemon center cried out, "Slowpoke tails! Delicious Slowpoke tails for sale! They are a delicacy my friends, a delicacy! Never will you ever taste such fine meat in all your life!"

Aubrey looked to her right and saw a disgustingly fat and loud man who was standing near the said pokemon center. His jowls wobbled every time he cried for attention towards his loving "delicacies."

By now, the expedition was used to the shouting obese man. They had seen him in action before and he would sometimes nab the unlucky trainer or tourist who was too naïve to see what he was buying was too expensive and too insipid.

Nonetheless, Jessica, who's views on the world were quite liberal, couldn't help but remark, "Disgusting. How could he sell people those tails? They cause extreme harm to the slowpoke and they sometimes don't survive such traumatizing experience."

She told the same damn thing every time they past the vendor, Aubrey wished she would give it a rest. Mike thought so too for he said, "So, how is that different from you trimming the leaves off of oddish and smoking them?"

She gave him a sharp look and glanced at the Professor to see if he heard. Smoking oddish leaves was illegal in Johto though in some cities it was allowed only if it was more medicinal use. The leaves gave the smoker a pleasant high which relaxed him and sometimes gave him slight hallucinogenic dreams.

Only the intrepid smoked gloom petals, few could stand them without going crazy.

Pushing back some of her cornrowed hair, Jessica replied, "It's different because the oddish aren't harmed when their leaves are trimmed."

"Right…so the Oddish, which relies on the sun for energy, is not affected _at all_ when the leaves are sheared off. Okay…"

Jessica bit her lip and said nothing.

But then Mike remarked, "I wonder if you can get high off of eating Slowpoke tails?"

Aubrey sighed and wondered not for the first time why she fell in love with this buffoon.

~ 2 ~ 2 ~

After the group ordered their dinner, Professor Curry looked at his adventurers and asked, "So, has anyone found any interesting today?"

Before the others could respond, Mike said, "Aubrey found something today, it was written in Unown!"

Professor Curry raised his eyebrows while everyone else's ears perked up. The Unown were the most mysterious and ancient of puzzles in the human world. The ancient language spoke of times that were different from today's world. A world that was filled with ancient pokemon like Aerodactyl, Kabutops and Omastar. It was a mystery as to exactly who made the ruins and the writings on the walls. Maybe some things were never meant to be solved.

Luiz was the first to speak who said in his accented Hoennese, "And…what is it you found exactly?"

Aubrey gave a nervous glance to her colleague and then to her professor, she coughed and said, "It's hard to say…I believe I stumbled upon an ancient tablet of a sort. I haven't found all the pieces yet so I'm not too sure though…"

"Have you translated some of it yet?"

She nodded, "I have… though with only a portion of the tablet in my possession it's hard to say what it is about yet."

"Well come on then," said Steven who had a trace of eagerness in his voice, "Spill the beans! You got to give us at least something!"

"Well, one of the words I translated was written quite large compared to the rest of the text. The only thing it said was…Gluttony…"

It was Mike's turn now to raise his eyebrows, he then responded, "Gluttony? Like the Deadly Sin?"

Aubrey nervously nodded.

Danny laughed and said, "A Deadly Sin! How remarkable! Who knew that we would find a Deadly Sin all the way out here?"

"I don't find that very surprising, actually," said Jessica who took a drink from her frothy, glass of beer.

"And why is that?"

She shrugged, "The Deadly Sins have been part of religious culture for many centuries now. They established the foundation on what it means to be a sinner in the eyes of the Almighty Arceus. People have learned to control their impure needs, desires and vices based on the Mortal Sins. If we didn't then the world would most certainly be a hell on earth."

"I'm surprised actually…" said Luiz softly as he stared at Jessica and then to Aubrey, "that Johto actually acknowledges the Seven Deadly Sins. _I _always thought it was just a Hoenn religion like our beloved Weather Trio."

"Nope," said Professor Curry whose knowledge filled and confident voice silenced the students, "the Seven Deadly Sins are as universal as Arceus. Every culture, nation and religion acknowledges them in one way or another. Let's see…"

He held up his hand and started counting his fingers, "Lust…Gluttony…Greed…Sloth…Wrath…Envy and Pride. There! Seven!"

"But why is it universal?" inquired Steven.

"Well, legend has it that the birth of mankind was also the birth of sin. To keep man righteous and pious, Arceus created 7 demons, known as the Gatekeepers, who would each represent a Deadly Sin."

He paused and said, "I can't seem to remember the entire Gatekeepers' names now…haha, this is going to bother me! Let's see…Asmodeus is Lust…Lucifer is Pride…"

"Mammon is Greed," added Jessica.

"Umm…" said Luiz hesitantly, "Leviathan is Wrath and Amon is Envy…"

"No," corrected Mike, "Leviathan is _Envy_ and Amon is _Wrath_."

"Oh…yeah…that's right…"

"Belphegor is Sloth…" said Danny after he took another pull of his beer, "Is that it?"

"No…" spoke Aubrey quietly, "The last one is Beelzebub, the Gatekeeper of Gluttony."

Professor Curry beamed at his students, nodding at their correct answers, he moved on.

"These Gatekeepers were used to incorporate fear and anguish into man and keep him on the right path to heaven. Sometimes, they would tempt man with their respected sin. However, not even the fear of Arceus and the Gatekeepers could dissuade some people from cheating on their lovers…or being lazy…or striking out in anger against another person. So Arceus created Hell and sent the Gatekeepers and the sinners to their respected circles. With the prospect of going to Hell for Eternal Damnation now in our ancestors' minds, less people died being sinners. Granted, this is just a legend but an interesting one nonetheless."

"Didn't _Alexander's Inferno_ have the Gatekeepers in them?" inquired Danny, "I seem to recall Alexander meeting a monster in each of the Circles."

The Professor nodded and responded, "That's correct. In fact, I daresay that my favorite Canto in the epic poem is the one where Alexander meets the gluttons!"

He set a hand on his rotund belly and continued, "Though I like the Canto due to its structure and overall irony, I can't help but feel that, if there _is_ a Hell, I'll be sent to the 3rd Circle of Hell where the gluttons are tortured."

Everyone averted their eyes from his face due to the awkwardness .

Luiz, however, inquired, "So why _do_ you like that part?"

"Well, like I said, I love that part of the story due to the irony it has. In a nutshell, the Gatekeeper eats the souls of the gluttons, shits them out and eats them again! Meanwhile, while not being digested by the horrible monster, the gluttons lie around in their own wastes! It's perfect! It's only right that the fat and the obese get to wallow around in their own excess waste! And the poor souls are delivered justice again and again by the Gatekeepers monstrous appetite."

Mike, Steven and Danny laughed at his dark sense of humor and his sporadic cursing. The Professor was quite a character.

When he was done laughing, Danny said, "But why would Aubrey find a tablet about Gluttony? Is there some sort of tie in with the Deadly Sin and the Ruins of Alph?"

"There is actually," interjected Jessica, "In one of the tunnels is a large and immutable door which reads in Unown: 'He who speaks the words of Arceus and proves his aversion towards Gluttony may enter.' Nobody knows what these 'words' are though and so the door has remained firmly shut ever since the door was first discovered in the late 1800s. What's behind that door is actually one of the more underrated mysteries at the Ruins of Alph. Some say there's treasure shaped like food in there but take that with a grain of salt."

"So this tablet that Aubrey discovered…," said Mike slowly, "…could be the key in opening it?"

Jessica shrugged, Danny smiled and Professor Curry said, "Well, I guess we'll find out! Aubrey, continue on with your site and see what you can dig up!"

"Yes, Professor."

Just then the waitress came by with their dinners. As she passed each of the plates out, the Professor said, "And speaking of Gluttony, let's eat!"

~ 2 ~ 2~

Aubrey felt bloated, she knew what she ordered was too much but she couldn't help herself. She placed her hands on her tummy and felt disgusted about herself.

_How could I have eaten so much?_

She looked at Mike who was finishing off the last of his fries, she was almost envious by his ability to guzzle down food and not gain any weight from it. He was thin and lanky.

_How can he love such a glutton as myself?_

She got up.

"I…I'm going to the bathroom," she said nervously.

"Okay," Mike said wiping his fingers off with his unclean napkin, "and you don't need to worry about paying your meal, _I_ got it."

"Thank you…you really didn't have to do that…"

He smiled and said, "Consider it your reward for finding that neat little artifact of yours."

She gave a polite smile, nodded, and headed to the restroom.

She entered it and gave a sigh in relief. It was a single room that was scarcely lit up by a single bulb.

She was private, she was safe.

She shut the door softly behind her and locked it. She was so paranoid that someone may walk in on her that she double checked the bolt.

Once satisfied, she stepped in front of the sink and looked herself in the mirror.

She didn't believe for one second that finding the artifact was fortuitous. It was message from Arceus He was warning her.

…_Gluttony…_

She lifted her hands slowly and felt the crevices of fat on the back of her thighs. They were like sickening and grotesque parasites that never gone away no matter how hard she tried. They felt unnatural and unflattering to her. She hated them and she swore to never wear a bathing suit until her awful thighs improved.

"_There goes Fat Aubrey! Why don't you lose some weight?"_

Her hands kept going up and felt the sides of her body. She lifted up her shirt and pinched the side of her body. A layer of skin and fat seemed to have molded into her hands as she felt them.

"_Stop it! Please…please stop!"_

Her hands released their grip and felt her stomach which seemed to have inflated like a balloon after that greasy and unhealthy meal.

…_Gluttony…_

Her hands met each other and slowly went up along her arms. Up past the wrist, forearm and elbow. They stopped and felt the layer of flab that hung off her arm. They jiggled as she caressed them.

…"_They say the ground shakes wherever she goes…"_

"Stop it!" she cried as her hands shot up and pulled on her hair, "Stop it!"

…_Gluttony…_

She looked at herself in the mirror and she gulped. She looked a nightmare. Tears strolled down her eyes. She was Beelzebub's henchwoman through and through. The picturesque of fat. She didn't want to be fat, she didn't want to embarrass Mike. She didn't want him to leave her, she loved him.

She straightened up. She knew what she had to do. She didn't want to but what choice did she have?

…"_She's like a fat Nidoqueen, isn't she…?"_

She looked at the toilet which was pristine and shiny. Not a spot of dirt or a hint of grime touched it. It beckoned her.

…_Gluttony…_

She took two steps and fell to her knees.

…_Gluttony…_

She opened the lid of the toilet.

…_Gluttony…_

She hunched over and grabbed the rim.

…_Gluttony…_

She opened her mouth and she slowly raised her finger to it.

…_Gluttony…_

…_Gluttony…_

~ 2 ~ 2 ~

She spat into the sink. The acerbic taste was disgusting. Her "treatment" was an awful thing and she knew it and hardly did it. But every time she did the "treatment" it made her feel better about herself. She didn't feel as bloated.

She opened her purse and pulled out a small toothbrush and toothpaste. Without hesitating she brushed ferociously. Oddly enough, the taste in her mouth became even more unpleasant once the acid mixed with the mint flavoring. But she kept brushing.

She spat and rinsed her mouth.

Instantly, her mouth felt better and less caustic. She bared her teeth and saw in the mirror that they looked fine to her. Taking a deep breath in, she unlocked the door and walked back to her table.

When Mike saw her come back he smiled and said, "There you are! Took you long enough, haha. How's my cute little muffin?"

She smiled.

The "treatment" must be working.


	6. Gluttony: Canto II

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo, Gamefreak or Pokemon, this story is fanfiction with no intention of profit.

~ 2 ~ 2 ~

"What do you suppose he looks like?"

Aubrey adjusted sitting posture and looked at Mike curiously. It was the following day and the two went to Aubrey's dig site and were able to excavate more of the artifact shards. Once they did a thorough dig of the area, they carefully took the all of the pieces back to the vehicles and sat down underneath a tree that gave ample amounts of shade. They were about to connect the pieces, but first, lunch.

"Who?" Aubrey asked as she took a bite out of her banana.

"Beelzebub, the Gatekeeper of Gluttony."

"Oh…" she said slowly.

She hadn't given much thought on the manner. It was true that she hated the odious Deadly Sin with much passion but she never really thought on what Beelzebub looked like per say.

"Truth be told…the first thing that comes to mind is…kind of like…a darkness…a being made of darkness."

"Hm."

"I take it that wasn't something you were expecting?"

"No, but that's still a good answer. It almost reminds me of a black hole."

"Why…?"

"Well, a black hole sucks up everything that's within its grasp including light. Gluttony is the Sin of overindulgence so it would only be natural that the Gatekeeper be analogous to a black hole. Nothing would be able to escape its Jaws of Gravity."

Aubrey could sense the unnecessary capitals that Mike added so emphatically. Aubrey took another bite of her banana and said, "Very true, you bring up a good point. What do _you_ think it looks like?"

"A giant fly."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Beelzebub is supposed to be the Lord of the Flies…so…he's a giant fly."

"That sounds too easy."

"Possibly, but I hate bugs so a giant insect of any kind will send me cowering."

"You're a pansy; remember that time I found that spinarak that somehow got into your apartment?"

"Ha! Do I ever, you just took that damn thing in your arms like it was a baby and gently set him free. I would have bought a flamethrower and burned the thing alive!"

"I don't know why you're so afraid of bugs anyway…"

"They're so creepy! And that sound they make when they buzz their wings just sends shivers down my spine…"

"Well, I _highly doubt_ that Beelzebub is a giant fly."

"Why?"

"Well, Beelzebub is one of the most reverent demons in dark religions for centuries now. Seriously, ask anyone if they know who Belphagor or Amon is and you'll probably get a blank stare back. Ask the same person about _Beelzebub_ however and you'll probably get a reaction of some sort."

She finished the rest of her banana and looked out to the distance.

"So many dark myths have been associated with him. Witches were said to use his power to destroy crops and kill domesticated animals. People called upon him to give dark hallucinations to their foes or give them the power to poison anything they touch. Why, the infamous Violet City witch trials are probably the best example of this. So many people were burned alive because they were accused of worshiping Beelzebub."

"Yeah, I remember that, certainly not Violet City's _best_ time in its history. Sounds like Beelzebub did more than just encourage people to gorge themselves to Hell."

Aubrey nodded and said, "Well, while we're on the subject of Beelzebub. Why don't we get to work on that artifact?"

"Sounds good."

The two put away their trash and carefully set out the pieces of the artifact. The budding archeologist then got out their special "archeo glue," as they liked to call it, and carefully spread the strong adhesive liquid across the broken surfaces. With careful but strong hands, they held the puzzle pieces in place until the glue set. Slowly, the pieces came together, forming even larger shards. Finally, through the accumulation of trial and error and waiting the glue to set, they were finished.

The couple looked at each other and smiled. Mike nodded, got up and wiped the sweat that dripped from his forehead. His golden tan arms were glistening with sweat from the afternoon sun. And his clothes were damp and clingy to his body; he reeked of grime and perspiration but Aubrey didn't mind.

"Well," he said looking down at the artifact with pride, "shall we decipher this thing or what?"

Aubrey nodded and simultaneously, the two pulled out their field notebook and jotted down the Unown scripture.

"…Let's see…this part says "Arch Theis" so that's referring to Arceus…"

"Yeah, I got that part Yesterday, wait, this was one part I didn't get…"

"…I can't quite figure out this word…maybe 'expel?' It could also be 'vanquish'…"

"…I think vanquish works better, if you combine it with the rest of the sentence you get 'vanquish all evil in the name of Beelzebub."

"Ah…yes, that _would_ make more sense. Hmm…"

Mike looked up at Aubrey and said, "the phrase 'doors of ancient times' appears twice in this artifact. Do you think…"

"That this artifact refers to the Gluttony Doors?" interrupted Aubrey, "I believe that it has to be."

By sunset they had finish the translation and after carefully wrapping up the completed artifact, they carried it back to the vehicles. When Professor Curry asked them if they discovered anything new, Mike responded, "Yep! We found the rest of the artifact. What's more, we believe it's the long lost password needed to open the Gluttony Doors!"

"Really?" inquired Steven, "Let's go there now!"

"Hold on there, Steven," said Danny as he took a swig from his bottle of water, "Let's not be too hasty here. It would take us _at least_ an hour to drive to the cave where the Gluttony Doors are. If what Aubrey and Mike say are true, then we should spend the whole day exploring what's inside of them and not what little time we have left."

Luiz nodded to that statement and added, "True, and we'll have to get some flashlights as well, though the path up to the Gluttony Doors has lights, the rest of the tunnel once those doors open will be completely dark."

"Then it's settled," concluded Professor Curry, "We'll head out to the Gluttony Doors tomorrow morning, if we're able to open those doors then this will be one of the biggest scientific news of the year!"

"I'll drink to that!" cried Jessica.

Everyone laughed and talked about the exciting prospect of solving a long time mystery. All except Aubrey who remained silent and worried.

~ 2 ~ 2 ~

On the following morning the expedition headed off to the cave that was home to the Gluttony Doors. Aubrey was silent on the way, her field notebook with her translation of the artifact written in it. Mike noticed her silence and asked, "Hey, are you alright?"

Aubrey forced a smile.

"Yes, I'm fine, I just have a small headache at the moment. Hopefully it will go away once we reach the caves."

"Well, I'll try to drive carefully on these roads, but I can't guarantee that the ride will be smooth."

"I know, thanks for trying anyways."

Mike's eyes wavered from the road and to the passing scenery. Large figures of rock scoured the landscape and seemed like ancient skyscrapers in an otherwise Spartan world. The occasional pidgeotto would fly high in the air, keeping a keen eye on any delicious prey that might have exposed itself on the barren land. Trees dotted the landscapes along with sage brushes as well. The Ruins of Alph were beautiful in for nowhere else in Johto was anything quite like it. Both in nature and in mystery.

The car came to a stop near a dirt trail. A large sign that was needed in replacing pointed spoke of the distance to the Gluttony Doors in faded letters. Mike got out and Aubrey hesitantly followed suit. As she got out, a burst of wind blew through her. The wind seemed to carry with it words she could not make out. Whether it was warning her or enticing her, she could not say.

As Mike was strapping on his backpack, Aubrey approached him and said, "Mike, I'm scared. I'm worried that we're getting into something that we shouldn't."

Mike studied her expression, looking for any trace of a joke or humor, seeing nothing but veracity he responded, "And why do you think this?"

The wind blew through her again carrying the sweet scent of the sage bush.

"I feel that we might unleash a great evil from within."

Mike adjusted his Adventure Hat and said, "Its Beelzebub isn't it?"

Before she could respond to that he continued, "I think you have nothing to worry about, Aubrey. The Gluttony Doors only speak of those who aren't guilty of Gluttony. And I think we fit that mark very well, don't you?"

Aubrey smiled for real this time, she liked it when he complimented on her weight. The fact that the Doors also said nothing about Beelzebub cheered her up as well.

"Right, okay, let's do this."

Picking up her own backpack, she and Mike joined the rest of the expedition and they walked down the dirt trail towards the secret doors.

The dirt trail was windy as it curved around hillsides and obstructing boulders and trees. Dust puffed in the air as seven pairs of feet crunched on them. The air was dry and the morning sun had begun its process of baking the landscape. Aubrey frequently quenched her dry lips with her large water bottle. Finally, the trail led them to a cave.

Aubrey's heart was pounding hard now both from fear and excitement. She was about to solve the mystery of the Doors, but what lay beyond it?

The cave floor was smooth and rounded from the millions of years of erosion. Aubrey had to watch her feet carefully as she slowly climbed down the makeshift stairs and walk across the limestone floor. Bare lightbulbs hummed like angry flies as they guided the expedition forward. Graffitti frequented the walls as well. Sometimes with proclamations of love with hearts carved around initials, sometimes with profanity and obscene drawings.

The tunnel ended and Aubrey gazed at the famous Gluttony Doors.

They were tall, maybe ten feet or so. The Doors were as wide as the tunnel itself and seemed twice as sturdy. They were made of a stone that seemed unlike any other rock Aubrey had seen before and they contrasted sharply against the dull-colored limestone that surrounded it. The quiescent Doors were humble in appearance with only a carved Crobat serving proudly upon it. The Crobat was as dark as the stone it was carved upon but its eyes shined brightly like gold. They seemed to pierce Aubrey's skin and judge not her appearance but her soul. She shivered from its gaze.

Above the Doors was the enigmatic inscription "_He who speaks the words of Arceus and proves his aversion towards Gluttony may_ _enter_."

Once she read the doors, the faint sound from before suddenly presented itself and the carved Crobat seemed to whisper to her,

"…_Gluttony…"_

Professor Curry broke her trance and said, "Well, Aubrey, you ready for this? Shall we see if your translation is the real thing?"

Everyone was looking at her eagerly, she swallowed and looked at the doors. She was processing the inscription slowly.

She turned to Mike.

"Mike, let's read it off together."

Mike was taken aback by this and said, "Are you sure? You discovered the artifact after all."

She smiled and nodded, "I'm sure, you're the one that helped translate it. If this is the real deal, then I want to do it together."

"Aww, that's sweet," quipped Jessica sarcastically.

"I think it's nice," contradicted Steven, "I think it would make the occasion that more memorable."

"Just hurry up and do it," added Danny who had an edge in his voice.

Mike smiled and said, "Thank you, Aubrey, that means a lot to me."

He slowly stepped up to join her and said, "Alright, let's pray to Arceus that this works!"

She nodded and the two began speaking the ancient language of the Unown.

"_Doors of ancient times, here my call. I am a pious and devout follower of Arceus. I serve under His name and vanquish all evil in the name of Beelzebub. I have not committed the Sin of Gluttony and my love for wine and bread is below that for my love of Arceus. I thus command you, doors of ancient times, to open for me and face the virulent Gatekeeper of Hell."_

At first, nothing happened. Then, the doors shuddered and the sound of stone grinding against stone was heard. The doors slowly opened splitting the carved Crobat down the center. Dirt and gravel fell to the ground, disturbed from their ancient slumber. A cold blast of air blasted from the dark cave and curved around the intrepid scientists. Once fully open, they looked in and saw only darkness and hate.

Out of the darkness came a voice that only Aubrey seemed to hear, it was full of malice and desire:

"_..Feed me…"_

Mike nodded slowly and said, "Well, shall we?"

"Not so fast."

Aubrey looked behind her and saw in the brightness of the flashlight Danny who was holding a handgun. He stood behind everyone in the group and said, "Stay right where you are and don't move a muscle. If you do, you're a dead man."

Aubrey gasped; guns were strictly banned in Johto. Only members of the military may carry them and that was only when they were on duty. This was her first time seeing one in person. Though the revolver looked small and harmless, she had seen enough movies, TV shows and documentaries that warned of their potent power. She grabbed Mike's arm tightly and pulled herself to him.

Before anyone could respond to what he did, Danny lifted a walkie talkie up to his mouth and curtly said, "We're in."

The radio crackled in response, though the hiss and static a man's voice returned "Roger that, we're on our way."

Danny slid the walkie talkie down his pocket warily while he kept an eye on everyone's movements. Professor Curry was red with anger and said so fiercely that his jowls wobbled, "Danny, what the _hell_ are you doing? Put that damn thing away before you kill somebody with it!"

"Believe me Professor; I attend to kill somebody if they do something foolish. Now, the next person who opens his mouth will get a stomach full of lead. So I kindly ask you to all to _shut the hell up_."

Aubrey griped even harder, if that was possible, on Mike's arm. Mike placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. All traces of humor and joviality vanished from his face as he looked at Danny as if he was something vile.

After 10 uncomfortable minutes, they heard sounds from the tunnels behind them. The sound of voices bounced off the cold, limestone walls and created a cacophony of noises. Flickering light from afar came into being and the dim light soon molded with the expedition's own light. The noises grew louder and then, five men came around one of the corners and revealed themselves. All of them were wearing black outfits with a large red "R" that was brazened upon them. One of the five men was the very fat Ciacco, the Slowpoke tail seller, who lead them like a matriarchal Donphan would lead her herd.

"Danny boy, Danny boy," the grotesque Ciacco said with pride as he slapped him on the back, "You have done well, Boss Giovanni will be proud of us and especially of you."

Aubrey's eyes widened as she saw two of the men pull out handguns similar to the one that Danny had. She was so concentrated on the fire arm that she barely heard Danny reply, "I'm looking forward to it. Years of waiting, hunting and…haha.._praying_ have finally paid off. Now, we'll have the Gatekeeper of Gluttony, the infamous Beelzebub."

The archeologists said nothing, though their captors were happily talking to each other, Danny's threat still loomed over their heads.

In fact, Ciacco noticed their stony silence and walked towards them. Stopping in front of Professor Curry he said, "I suppose you're wondering who we are."

"No," said Steven who's rebellious attitude got the better of him, "It's obvious by your uniforms that you're associated with the disbanded Team Rocket."

Danny growled at his response but Ciacco held up a hand to silence him, taking out a cigar and lighting it, he replied, "Almost correct, despite what Goldenrod's Radio Tower wants you to think, we have certainly _not _disbanded. We have been slowly gathering strength now these past few years and with Boss Giovanni at the helm again we won't fall prey again to…_ten year olds…_"

He puffed at his cigar and pulled it out with two of his fat, sausage-like fingers.

"Let's just say that our new agenda now is hunting the _Lord of the Flies_. As such, I have been stationed at the outpost near the Ruins of Alph to keep an eye and ear on all expeditions that dealt with Beelzebub or Gluttony. As luck would have it, one of our members happened to be in the group that discovered it! I just love it when things finally go my way…"

"No!"

This time it was Professor Curry who spoke out, he took a step towards them and Jessica grabbed his shoulders to refrain him from doing anything stupid.

"How can you expect to tame the demon? He will listen to no mere mortal! Besides, there's no Pokeball that's strong enough to capture such a powerful monster!"

"Ha, we'll see about _that_. Now let's cut the chitchat, we have a Gatekeeper to see."

Danny and the two grunts with the handguns step forward, the traitor then said, "Now, you two lovebirds. Get going, I don't have all day now."

Mike gave a rude nod and said slowly, "You heard them, Aubrey, we better show our guests to Beelzebub."

"But…"

Before she could counter is invitation, Mike pulled her towards the opened doors. He then whispered, "Don't worry, we'll think of something. For now, we have to buy some time."

She nodded and the two, arm tightly wrapped around arm, led the now much larger group forward.

~ 2 ~ 2 ~

Aubrey felt like crying.

All around her she thought she heard the walls whispering to her. The words were no longer soft and sporadic but audible and constant. She blanched as she heard them say,

"_Gluttony…gluttony…gluttony…"_

The tunnel frequently branched off several times and it was mainly Mike that was leading the way. Every time a fork in the road came by, he read the Unown writings and pointed the group the next route. After the fifth fork in the road, Danny said, "I swear, Guinness, you better not be leading us the wrong way."

"Believe me, Rice, I would if I knew where these damn tunnels would take us. But for now, you can trust me in saying I'm taking you the right way."

Aubrey knew this was true, each step they took her fear just grew stronger and stronger. The walls were now whispering more harshly. The temperature was getting colder and the air became more stagnant. She wanted to go back.

"_Gluttony…gluttony…gluttony…"_

She wanted to go back.

"_Feed me…feed me…feed me…"_

She wanted to go back.

"_I'm hungry…I'm hungry…I'm hungry…"_

But despite the protest of her legs, she kept moving forward. Her love for Mike seemed to overshadow her fear of Beelzebub.

Suddenly, the narrow and cramp tunnel opened up to a large cavern. It was so devoid of light that even the brightly lit flashlights seemed like mere book lights. Everyone seemed to be in awe with how much room there was.

The whispers suddenly became shouts and Aubrey clawed at her face in agony.

"_GLUTTONY! GLUTTONY! GLUTTONY!"_

Aubrey collapsed on the ground and started crying. Mike rushed to her aid and said, "Aubrey! Are you alright? What happened?"

"I-I want t-to go home, Mike! I…want t-to get…out of here!"

The shouts suddenly became whispers and were like a soft drum roll.

"_Gluttony, gluttony, gluttony, gluttony…"_

Ciacco's laugh overcame her sobs and he shouted, "You! Come over here and tell us what this says."

Aubrey wiped the tears from her eyes and gasped again, this time in horror. On the other side of the cavern were two doors not unlike the ones they had to go through earlier. However, these doors were _massive_ and seemed as sturdy as a mountain. They were without handles and their eroded and dirty appearance gave evidence that it had been untouched for many millennia. Many figures were carved on the door that symbolized both good and evil. Though Aubrey saw famous legendaries such as Lugia, Mew, Celebi and Arceus, most prominent of all was Ho-Oh who was so large that his fiery wings spread from one end of the doors to the other. The Ho-Oh seemed to have looked down on his unexpected visitors with burning rage. Just above the doors were the same Unown language that flowed across the cavern walls.

Mike slowly approached the doors and pulled out his field notebook, after looking through his pages and carefully interpreting the ancient language. He then said, "This door…it says…'Here lies Beelzebub'…" Mike then looked at Ciacco and continued, "All we have to do now is say 'open' in Unown and we'll be granted the right to face Beelzebub.

"_Burn in Hell…burn in Hell…lie in wastes…lie in wastes…burn in Hell…burn in Hell…lie in wastes…lie in wastes…"_

Ciacco laughed again much louder and shouted to the rest of his members, "We did it! We have found Beelzebub! Get out your Pokemon, men! Let's not take any chances when facing him!"

The four grunts nodded; one by one, they released their pokemon. The first one released a golbat and an electabuzz. The second one released a scyther and a raticate. The third one released a golbat as well along with a graveler. The fourth one released also released a heracross along with a venomoth. Even Danny released his machoke as well.

Jessica raised an eyebrow and nonchalantly said, "Looks like you guys upgraded yourself from your grimers, koffings and rattatas."

Ciacco smirked and retorted, "Boss Giovanni told us that in order for us to succeed, we have to diversify our army and make them stronger. He funded the army with more and stronger pokemon and taught us the values of what it means to care for our pokemon. I thought it was all taurosshit beforehand but to my surprise, it really does work. Now, go Snorlax!"

He released his pokeball in the air and with a blinding flash of light a giant and tough looking Snorlax appeared. Snorlax gave a roar and beat his chest several times.

"Are you crazy!" screamed Luiz whose voice echoed far too many times in the spacious cavern, "Your pokemon can't stop Beelzebub! He's a demon from hell! Only a legendary can stop him!"

"_Let me free…let me free…let me free…let me eat…let me eat…let me eat…"_

Ciacco got so pissed off by his doubtful cry that he pointed his gun up in the air and fired. The shot rang so loud that Aubrey screamed and covered her ears. It sounded like a machine gun was going off from the way the shot rang out in the cave. Bits of rubble fell on Ciacco but he seemed not to have noticed.

"SHUT UP! Up against the wall! If one more of you shouts I swear I'm going to shoot you! And you!"

He pointed his gun at Mike again and ordered, "Open that door, now."

Aubrey continued to sob as she heard the whispers say:

"_I'm hungry…open doors…I'm hungry…open doors…open doors mortals…_

…_let me eat you…"_


	7. Gluttony: Canto III

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo, Gamefreak or Pokemon, this story is fanfiction with no intention of profit.

Author's Note: After I came up with the design of Beelzebub a few months ago, the following chapter was one of the first scenes planned out in the whole story. As such, this had been one of the easier (and I daresay most fun) passages I had written in a while. Enjoy.

~ 2 ~ 2 ~

"No!" Aubrey shouted, as she lunged at Ciacco's feet, "Don't open those doors! You have no idea what kind of madness you're getting into!"

Ciacco looked down at the teary-eyed grad student with disgust. Shaking her off his foot he proclaimed, "I'll do what I want, girl. Kindly get your sniveling face out from my personal area."

"Don't open those doors!" she shouted again as tears ran down her, "You've got to listen to me!"

Jessica and Steven were about to pull her away from him when Ciacco sighed, pulled out his own gun and pointed it at her head. Aubrey fell back as if given a blow and looked at the barrel of the gun with fear. Ciacco then said to Mike, "If you don't open these doors I'm going to blow her brains out."

There was no room for arguing and Mike could plainly see that. Looking at Aubrey sincerely, he quietly said, "Please, don't hurt her, I'll do it."

He faced the imposing doors and looked up at the menacing Ho-Oh. Behind him, the grunts' pokemon step forward. They were eager to fight for their masters but at the same time, they felt nervous as well. The darkness was getting to them almost as much as it was getting to Aubrey.

Mike took a deep breath and spoke in Unown.

"_Open."_

Immediately, a howl that was not of this earth echoed across the caverns. Everyone looked around wildly to see where the howl came from. The doors then opened slowly and shook the ground as they moved. Like the Gluttony Doors, they moved slowly but you could feel the strength of the doors as they screeched open. As the ground violently tossed them around, Aubrey prayed for both that the cave wouldn't collapse and there was nothing behind the doors.

The doors finished opening with a satisfying _clunk_ and dust slowly fell from the ceilings. Everyone looked into the darkness and saw nothing.

Ciacco waved a hand to the rest of his group and said, "Alright, keep your eyes peeled men. Let's find us a Gatekeeper!"

But before they could take a step, a soft buzzing could be heard. Everyone stopped moving and listened. It sounded like the wings of a beedrill or a yanma but softer, not as harsh. The more Aubrey listened to it the more she thought it sounded like the flapping of a bird's wing. But she hadn't heard any bird whose wings beat as fast as the sound did. The sound was getting louder and louder and it was echoing off the cold walls of the cave.

The Team Rocket members raised their guns hesitantly and pointed at the entrance. Their pokemon became alert and prepared themselves. Mike took tentative steps back and held out his pokeball in case anything bad came his way.

Aubrey looked towards the darkness and realized that death may soon be upon her.

The buzzing became louder and louder until…

Aubrey blinked.

Out from the darkness came a very small pokemon. It was the smallest pokemon she had ever seen in her entire life. It was smaller than even a caterpie and could fit easily in the palm of her hand. The pokemon was like a bird but it had a long and thin beak. Its wings were beating rapidly and were the cause of the weird buzzing sound. The bird-like pokemon was iridescent and was painted the colors of royal purple and emerald green. It hovered like a tiny helicopter six feet in the air and looked at everyone with inquisitiveness.

Aubrey then heard the bird-like pokemon say, _"Food…willingly given to me…I haven't eaten for so long…."_

Aubrey screamed and she ran towards Mike. As she pulled him away from the tiny bird, Ciacco yelled, "What madness is this? Where's Beelzebub? This can't be him! Beelzebub is one of the most feared demons of all time! He's not this tiny creature!"

As if to prove him wrong, the bird moved with such agility and speed that Aubrey did not have time to register him. The bird flew up to one of the grunts' Golbat, the closest pokemon to it, and stuck his beak into the Golbat's side like a hypodermic needle. The Golbat screeched and tried to knock off the pokemon but it was to no avail.

The usually stolid Jessica screamed at what happened next. Like a liquid being sucked up by a straw, the Golbat twisted and contorted in midair as the bird absorbed him through his tiny beak. It looked awful as all of his body was morphed in unnatural ways. The Golbat was helpless and his scream was first intoxicated with bubbling pain and then fell silent. His left wing was the last to go and it too went easily into the bird as did the rest of his body.

Silence followed, Ciacco finally found his voice and shouted, "What are you waiting for? Shoot him!"

He and all of his followers raised their handguns and fired repeatedly. But Beelzebub was too quick, too smart and too small for them and he nimbly dodged the oncoming bullets. He seemed to dance in the air as the bullets lodged themselves on the old and rounded walls. He would be soothing to watch if he weren't so deadly.

"Snorlax! Use Hyper Beam!"

The Snorlax opened his mouth and a ball of fire and light materialized within his gaping jaws. Once it was the size of a basketball, he released it with tremendous force. The extraordinary beam was coming at Beelzebub with blinding speed. However, even this was too slow and the Gatekeeper nimbly dodged it.

Before Snorlax could have time to attack it again, Beelzebub zipped through the air and landed like a dart on his large belly. Snorlax cried in pain and he tried to reach the very small demon with his stubby arms but they were too short. And then, he too began to twist and shrivel, just like the Golbat before him. All of his fat, fur and muscle were being sucked up by the demon. The demon seemed unphased by his absorption of the giant pokemon. He remained as petite as ever despite his feeding on a monster that was hundreds of times larger than him.

Aubrey felt sick as she watched the Snorlax's head implode in on itself. The way the eyeballs seem to sink into its head; or the way the mouth curled inwards leaving a twisted opening; or the ears popping inwards as if they were being turned inside out. His whole body seemed to deflate like a balloon and this was made all the more horrifying by the terrible moans and pleas for help it made.

And just like that, he was gone, sucked up by the smallest pokemon ever.

Mike grabbed Aubrey before she could watch the Gatekeeper kill something else and pulled her up so quickly that she became disorientated. Waving a hand to the rest of his peers he shouted, "Let's get out of here! Head back to the Doors! Maybe we can trap the beast from within!"

As they took off, the grunts were confused whether to shoot at their hostages or at the agile monster. Danny didn't hesitate at all and he lifted his handgun and fired at the back of Steven's head who just began his sprint.

_BLAM_, the shot ran out in the caves and the bullet pierced through Steven's skull like it was nothing. The bullet exited just above his right eye and he collapsed to the ground. The shot was one of many sounds that contributed to the confusing shouts, the screams of the damned and the wild calls of the frightened pokemon.

"Steven!" cried Jessica as she stopped in mid-run and ran back to the lifeless corpse. She grasped his head gently and tried in vain to see if there was any trace of life left in him. She pulled her hand away in shock as she saw from the yellow light of her flashlight his blood that oozed out of his skull along with parts of his now broken brain. The brightly colored liquid painted her hand as she looked at it in horror. She sank to her knees and said, "No…he can't be dead…"

"…_I need more food…"_

Aubrey snapped out of her fear induced trance and broke away from Mike. She ran up to Jessica and now _she_ was the one pulling somebody up.

"Leave him!" she screamed as the Team Rocket men continued to try to subdue the Gatekeeper, "He's dead! We'll come back for him later!"

Just as the two were getting up, Ciacco, who was enraged that his dear snorlax was now dead, screamed, "I'd have enough of this! I'm going to end this!"

He pulled out a pokeball that was unlike any pokeball Aubrey had ever seen before. It had a purple top with two small pink circles upon it. It had a large, white "M" inscribed upon it. Aubrey's curiosity for the unusual ball was dominated though by her desire to get out of here so she gave it an ephemeral glance. As she retreated from the cavern, she heard Ciacco say, "Masterball, go!"

The Masterball flew through the air towards Beelzebub; Beelzebub just stared at the oncoming, never-failing pokeball. He then opened his beak and let loose a stream of acid and poison. The acrid liquid sprayed forth like an angry geyser and soaked the Masterball. Steam and smoke immediately bubbled forth and the ball seemed to have disintegrated in midair. It then burst into a thousand, molten and useless pieces and bounced harmlessly off of Beelzebub and onto the floor.

"Well, shit," remarked Ciacco which summed up the situation quite nicely.

"Machoke!" cried Danny, "Use Rock Tomb!"

"Electabuzz!" ordered a grunt, "Use Thundershock!"

"Use Signal Beam, Venomoth!" added a second grunt.

Machoke nodded to Danny and picked up a nearby boulder and heaved it at the Gatekeeper. At the same time, Electabuzz punched his fists together several times and a crackling stream of electricity was released from his antennae. Following suit was the Venomoth which released a green Signal Beam from his head.

Beelzebub started flapping his wings even faster in response to this. They were going at it with blinding speed that it was just a blur, almost invisible. A great windstorm sprung forth from his wings and whipped around in the cavern like an indoors tornado. The three attacks, even the pure energy of the Thundershock and the Signal Beam became disorientated from the fierce wind and veered off course. The boulder fell just short of Beelzebub, the electrical attack zigzag this way and that until it was absorbed harmlessly by the walls. The Signal Beam made a wide arc and slammed into the floor creating a nice dent in it.

Everyone became disoriented by the wind and either fell to the ground or was blown with tremendous force against the wall. The wind howled as it did so like it was a soul that was screaming for mercy. It was made even worse by the cave as it echoed off the walls. It sounded like an asylum for the damn as thousands upon thousands of souls scream and cry in agony.

The wind swept through the tunnel that the expedition was running in. The howling wind pushed them to the ground and some of their flashlights fell from their hands and cracked against the hard floor. The useless devices just lay there as the howling wind blew above them. With some of them now broken, the tunnel seemed to have become ten times as dark.

As Aubrey's eyes tried to adjust to the darkness, Mike grabbed her hand and urged her on. She gave into his insistence and followed suit. Confused shouts from beyond and behind her were drowned out by the ever present howling of the wind. She had to brace herself constantly in order to not fall down again. She teetered on the edge of moving quick enough to escape her foe but slow enough to not slip on the polished stone her shoes gripped weakly.

Back in the large cavern, Beelzebub stopped his constant windstorm and the wind quickly died down. He zoomed forward though like a torpedo and landed squarely on Ciacco's forehead. Ciacco cried in agony and grabbed the Gatekeeper with his large right fist and tried to pull him off. But it was useless, Beelzebub was like a joltik that would refuse to let go no matter how hard you tug at it. Ciacco felt the horrible sensation of all his organs, tissues and bones shake violently and then pull themselves upward to his skull.

And then he felt nothing at all.

With their leader now in the infinite space of Beelzebub's stomach, Danny looked back at the other grunts and said, "Fall back! We'll have a better time shooting it in the narrow tunnels!"

Before they could respond, a soft _flunk_ sound was heard and Beelzebub was on one of the grunt's chest.

"Leave him!" Danny insisted, not even allowing the doomed man a chance to scream for help, "Let's go!"

The grunts thundered out of the cave with Danny leading them on. The grunt's electabuzz stayed behind to protect his dying master. The four of them ran fast and hard, all the while, hearing the poor man's screams throughout the cave.

They stopped where the cave split. Danny cursed loudly and one of the members said, "Which way do we go?"

"The hell if I know!" he responded looking at the Unown language that was written on both of the splitting tunnels, "I can't read this Arceus damn language! It can suck my dick for all I care! Let's go this way for now!"

They all nodded and kept going forward, hoping that this was the way out of the long network of caves.

~ 2 ~ 2 ~

Beelzebub zoomed to the right as a Thundershock attack came whizzing towards him. He could feel the air around him become charged as it narrowly missed him. His fine coat of feathers felt tingly from all the energy.

After eating his master, the electabuzz became enraged and attacked him with all his might, despite the large possibility of losing. This deeply annoyed Beelzebub, he hated it when his prey puts up a fight. Why can't they just lie down and go easy?

The electric pokemon released a Shock Wave attack. Beelzebub was irritated now, hadn't the electabuzz learned that he couldn't hit him?

He did his graceful dodging but the electrical attack changed course in midair and adjusted itself towards Beelzebub. Beelzebub was taken aback by this and before he could react the attack hit him squarely on the tip of his beak.

A surge of energy went through his tiny body and he squealed in pain. His feathers were no longer tingly but numb with pain and his wings shook uncontrollably. He temporarily lost feeling in them and he felt himself fall. All the while, in the back of his mind, he dimly remembered that Shock Wave never missed its target, no matter how elusive it was.

But he regained control of his wings and his mind snapped back into focus. His fall transformed into a dive and he zoomed towards the electabuzz with alarming alacrity.

He swooped onto its right leg and began drinking from his delicious insides. The electabuzz was quite pleasing to eat. He was both sweet and sour and it made Beelzebub's tongue quiver with ecstasy. The electabuzz's cry all the more made the taste even better.

When he finished his snack, he looked around the cavern that imprisoned him for centuries and he sighed. His food ran away. Why couldn't they just stay put and let him eat them?

It will take too long to find them all, he was hungry; he wanted them _now_. Even with his speed it might take hours just to hunt every last one down.

The thought of them also escaping and trapping him made him think through his options. It would be a bother to have the survivors find their way out of the cave and warn the rest of the world that he was alive.

He looked up at the doors that once sealed him in from the rest of the world. The engraved Ho-Oh was split down the middle now though it seemed to have made his appearance all the more frightful. His feathers became ruffled at the thought of the Legendary. If the world became known that he was free again, then Ho-Oh will find him and most likely end his life.

_Need to eat prey…Ho-Oh won't know…need army to help me…_

He looked back into the prison that housed him for all this time and stared straight into the darkness. He opened his small beak and gave a trumpeting call.

His once-prison absorbed the sound and became as silent as the darkness it held. Then, an intense buzzing filled the prison and the cavern. It grew louder and louder like an oncoming storm. The sound filled Beelzebub with an insatiable pleasure that dwarfed the taste of the electabuzz.

Out from the cavern came his army. Tens of thousands of locusts and flies came thundering out of his prison like a giant wave. They kept on with their never ending buzzing and filled the entire floor and air with their tiny bodies. All of them had suffered the same imprisonment as he and all of them were hungry too.

When the last insect filed out of the doors, he looked at his army and said, _"Go…find my prey…if you see anyone…kill on sight…"_

And like that the insects moved with ferocious speed. The flies darted out of the cavern and into the small tunnels. The locusts followed suit with just as much enthusiasm for the prey. They were eager; it had been _too_ long since they tasted sweet flesh.

Beelzebub watched them go only for a second before he too took off for the hunt.

~ 2 ~ 2 ~

"Shit, stop everyone!"

Aubrey looked behind her and saw Mike stop to catch his breath. She resisted the temptation to move on as he said, "Head count, everybody! Who's here?"

"Me," said Jessica.

Aubrey waited for Luiz and Professor Curry to respond but they didn't, Mike cursed again.

"All this time we've been running and we didn't bother to check if the rest of us were still behind…"

"What happened? I thought they were with us the whole time!"

"Yeah, they were. They must've got confused when that wind came by and threw everyone to the ground. I bet they got disoriented and took the wrong tunnel."

"Do we know if we're in the right tunnel to begin with?"

Mike shook his head, "Hard to say, I kind of picked the one we're in now on a whim."

"Should we go back to find them?" inquired Aubrey.

"No, if we do we would have lost valuable time. Danny or the other Team Rocket men could be back there. Even worse, Beelzebub might have finished them off by now. We have no chance against him."

"I agree," added Jessica, "Let's keep going and hope that Luiz and Professor Curry can make it out okay.

As the three simultaneously took off, Aubrey heard a cold voice that echoed softly against the walls.

"_Time to die mortals…Time to feed me…"_

She panicked when he spoke and in her haste her foot slipped. She felt herself slip to the side and saw the floor coming up to her fast. Her head slammed against the wall so hard that she immediately saw stars. And then she was knocked out.

And from the distance, there was a faint sound of wings beating together at a furious rate that was slowly making its way towards them.


End file.
